


She-Ra and the Crystal Gems: Twin Destinies

by TheInkredibleKaptainKaiju



Series: She-Ra and Steven Universe: Heroes United [5]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Fandom Fusion, Gen, Steven Universe: The Movie, and the rest - Freeform, semi-original characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:06:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25119613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheInkredibleKaptainKaiju/pseuds/TheInkredibleKaptainKaiju
Summary: Earth was at peace. Etheria was at peace. Homeworld had been stopped. The Horde had been stopped. Why, then, was the fighting not over? The Crystal Gems and the Princess Alliance both learn the hard way that their stories have not yet reached their happily ever after. There are still more threats to vanquish in order to save the universe, and the only way they stand any chance is if they do it side by side!(Currently on hiatus)
Series: She-Ra and Steven Universe: Heroes United [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1440292
Comments: 3
Kudos: 20





	1. Here We Are in the Future

**Author's Note:**

> You read that right, no happy endings for these folks! Maybe someday, but not now. Now, the next chapter in this epic saga has begun! Enjoy!

** She-Ra and the Crystal Gems: Twin Destinies **

Chapter One: Here We Are in the Future

_ _ _

“ _ Steven… _ ”

It was the same voice. The same one he had heard every night for the past three days. The first time seemed like just a fluke. The second time could have been a coincidence, but Steven had been doing this for too long to believe in coincidences anymore. By the third time, he knew something was wrong, which tonight only confirmed.

_ “Steven...you must… _ ”

The same collection of images that had flashed before him appeared again. An enormous castle in the distance, a grassy field between himself and the structure. A circular room, looking like it was inside the same castle, being enveloped in a blinding white light. A strange figure standing silhouetted against the setting sun, standing next to the ruins of said castle; only this time, the figure was not standing as he had been on the previous three days. This time, he was on his knees, his head bowed.

“ _ You must find… _ ”

This had been where the visions had ended before. But this time, more images flashed before him. First, he seemed to be walking through a corridor of some sort. It looked like something out of the middle ages, or it would have been were it not for what looked like Homeworld robonoids gathering dust next to the assorted swords and shields. Not to mention, the hallway was lit with glowing spheres attached to the wall rather than torches. Just where was this place?

“ _ The sword… _ ”

He then found himself inside an underground cavern, travelling deeper and deeper into the earth. The scene flashed and shifted numerous times, as though he was watching it in fast-motion.

_ “Steven, you must find the sword. _ ”

Now, finally, he was in a gigantic chamber, which he assumed to be at the end of the caverns. Waterfalls of lava (would that make them lavafalls?) oozed down from the ceiling, pooling into a molten lake that surrounded a raised platform in the room’s center, to which a bridge connected the entrance. And on that platform, embedded into the stone, was a sword. Both the handle and blade seemed to be the same silvery-grey in color, and between the two was a cage-like formation of six strips of metal. Inside this ‘cage’ was a red jewel, hovering in the air.

“ _ Steven...You must… _ ”

“ _ Steven… _ ”

“ _... _ ”

“ _ Steven! _ ”

_ _ _

Startled awake by the sudden shout of his name, Steven sat up with a gasp. He tried to slow his breathing. He looked around: his room was exactly how he had left it the night before, and the sunbeams of early morning had already begun to leak in through the windows.

“Well. The dream was definitely different  _ that _ time!” Steven said aloud, pulling himself up out of bed. He started to ponder what it could mean...until he glanced at the clock. “Oh man, is it that late already!? I’ve gotta get going!” He hurried through the door and down the stairs.

Two years. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. It seemed like only yesterday when White Diamond had torn out his gem in order to get his mother back, and now she was excited for his arrival. Not to mention, Little Homeworld was coming along quite nicely. So many of his former enemies were now learning to live under Era 3. He made a mental note to go and visit the town later.

Upon reaching the lower floor, he was surprised to see that he had a guest. “Connie! What are you doing here so early?”

The young woman in question was sitting on the couch in the living room, Lion resting beside her. “I wanted to see you off!” said Connie, looking up at Steven as she stroked the pink feline. “I figured you could use some encouragement before your coronation.”

Steven laughed nervously. “Connie, you remember what I told everyone, right? I’m not going to stay on Homeworld. I can’t, especially not after everything that happened between me and the Diamonds.”

“I know, but I wanted to wish you luck anyway,” Connie said, getting to her feet. “White and the others might not take the news so well. After all, they’ve probably been missing Pink for the past few thousand years. I know if my parents didn’t see me for a long time, they’d never leave me alone again after that, especially if they thought I was dead!”

“I guess,” Steven agreed, tugging on his pink jacket. “But at least your parents aren’t giant evil space alien empresses.  _ Formerly _ evil, I should say. They’re trying to change that.”

“And who better to help them with that than you!” said Connie. “Now come on, you don’t want to be late!”

“Right, right, of course!” said Steven, hurrying into the kitchen to make himself a quick breakfast. “Sorry, I’ve been kind of... _ off _ lately.”

“Is this about that dream?” asked Connie. “The one where you can see that medieval castle?”

“Yeah,” Steven answered. “I had it again last night. Only this time, it was different. I was going through this underground cave, and I ended up in this room filled with lava. And the same guy kept asking me about a sword or something. It’s weird.”

“Yeah, it sounds weird,” Connie replied. “Do you think...maybe it has something to do with Etheria? And She-Ra?”

“I honestly don’t know,” Steven answered, sealing a PB and J in a plastic baggie. “Maybe if I could ask Adora about it. Of course, it has been two years...” Neither Steven or Connie wanted to admit it, but the both of them figured that there was little chance of seeing their friends from Etheria again.

“You know, maybe it’s a subconscious thing. I could look into it a little if you want me to,” Connie offered. “I’m sure there are some books at the library about this sort of thing, or I could look it up online.”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to go to all that trouble just because of me,” Steven said. “We’ll talk about this later, but now I have to go!”

The two shared a quick hug before Steven hurried off to the warp pad. “Bye!” said Connie, waving to him as he hurried upstairs. “Good luck with your aunts! ...Or would they be his sisters?”

_ _ _

Adora stared out the window at the setting sun, letting out a heavy sigh. Even though she, as She-Ra, strived to bring peace to Etheria, something didn’t quite feel right now that she had accomplished just that. Of course, this was probably because it wasn’t true peace.

Two years. It was hard to believe that so much time had passed. It seemed like only yesterday when Horde Prime had been laying waste to the planet, and now the Horde itself was hardly even present. And when there was no Horde…

“Adora?” A light knock on the door accompanied this voice. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah, I’m up,” Adora called over her shoulder. “What’s up?”

The door to Adora’s room opened, and Glimmer walked in. “Some of our scouts just got back with a report on Horde activity,” she said.

“Let me guess: Horde soldiers are bringing Horde Prime’s tech back to the Fright Zone, and not engaging with civilians or soldiers. And nobody’s seen Catra, either.” It was clear from Adora’s tone of voice that she was growing tired of every day bringing the exact same thing.

“Uh...yup, exactly that,” Glimmer responded. “So, we are a bit of a rut here. But at least they aren’t still attacking us, right?”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” said Adora. “I’m sure Hordak still wants to control Etheria, and with all these ships and bots lying around, he has more of an opportunity than ever. He’s just been biding his time these past two years.”

Glimmer could tell her friend was upset, and her instincts lead her to believe it wasn’t about Hordak. “Hey, don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually,” she said, trying to comfort her friend.

“But will she?” Adora asked. “Nobody’s seen any sign of her for two years. And given how intent Catra was at winning this war, I can’t imagine she’d be willingly staying behind. What if...what if Hordak did something? What if he punished her for her failure, or something like that?”

“Then we’ll make him pay,” said Glimmer, with such determination that Adora had no choice but to believe her. And while the sentiment was the same, Glimmer cared less about Catra herself, and more for the face that Adora cared about her. In truth, the princess was neutral in regards to the cat girl. They had teamed up against Skeletor, but at the end of the day, she was still with the Horde.

“Right,” said Adora. Renewed by some of that determination from Glimmer. “Hordak’s bound to make a move before too long. And when he does, we’ll be ready for him.” She strolled over to the foot of her bed, picking up the Sword of Protection. She gazed into her reflection in the blade for a few moments before slinging the sword over her shoulder. “So, what’s our next move?”

“Uh…” Glimmer didn’t really have an answer. “I don’t know, to be honest. I just figured you, me, and Bow could head out to investigate the area where our scouts saw the Horde troops.”

“Works for me,” Adora said. Once more, she strolled over to the window, gazing out into the night. “The Horde is out there, scheming. We have to beat them to the punch if we want to have any--wait...what’s that?”

“Huh? What’s what?” Glimmer asked, looking out the window as well. She couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. At least, not on the ground.

“That,” Adora said, pointing out something hovering in the night sky. A tiny light shined over the treetops; it was dim, but unmistakable. “Is that…”

“A star,” Glimmer finished. “But...that’s impossible.”

Adora’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like this,” she said, shaking her head. “Do you think the Horde has something to do with this?”

“I don’t know, but I think we’d better go find out,” responded Glimmer. The two of them hurried towards the meeting hall to tell everyone else about the star; chances are, most of them already knew. The only way a star could be seen on Etheria was if the planet was being transported back into the main universe.

Or if something else had been transported into Despondos with them.


	2. Two Years in the Making

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After two long years of peace, two new threats to both Earth and Eternia appear, biding their time for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Chapter Two: Two Years in the Making

_ _ _

Even two years after making it her own, Catra still hated Hordak’s sanctum. She could easily have changed it up to suit her tastes, but she never did. Instead, she kept it exactly the way it had always been. It was still the same dark, dismal dungeon it had been back when Hordak was in charge. And even though Catra had taken his place, she was still unnerved by the room.

But that was exactly the reason she kept the sanctum as it was. If  _ she _ , Lord Catra, was afraid just to be in her own sanctum, then everyone else would be, as well. She knew that she was no Hordak, but she had something he didn’t--she could read people. And if they were afraid of her, then she had secured her position as sovereign ruler of the Fright Zone, supreme commander of the Horde.

Catra stood up from the throne that was now hers, descending the stairs before her. Going along with her newfound ‘promotion,’ as she liked to call it, she wore a new outfit to make her authority known. She had gotten Entrapta to modify Hordak’s old exoskeleton to make it fit her. Catra’s version of the armor was far less bulky, and it no longer had any boots, so she was free to use her claws. Of course, there was also a hole in the back for her tail. All of this allowed her to keep her agility while still having her strength and durability augmented by the suit.

Catra walked through the Fright Zone, as everyone she passed saluted her. She paid them no attention. Two years ago, Horde Prime had used this area as a factory for its cybertroops, and today was no different. Only this time, she controlled them.

Not long after Catra had assumed position as the Horde’s leader, following the disappearance of Hordak and the destruction of Horde Prime, she had ordered Entrapta to rework the latter’s old factories. The ships and machines it had left strewn across Etheria weren’t worth anything just sitting around, and if they didn’t do something with them, she knew the Rebellion would. And so, they had created this setup.

She examined the assembly line as she made her way to the controls, passing by Horde soldiers along the way. She was much more likely to mingle amongst the general infantry than Hordak was. Of course, that was only so she could see to matters personally. Although she delegated as much as she was willing to, she preferred to be hands-on in her projects.

Take this one, for example. Now, in addition to producing the spherical bots as normal, the Fright Zone now had an assembly line for the more humanoid cybertroops. And with time, they would soon be able to produce cybertanks as well. Cybercolossi seemed like a distant dream, but Catra could always hope.

Once Catra reached the control room, she was greeted by a cybertroop standing guard at the doorway. Unlike the others, its visor was purple rather than the standard Horde green, and it chirped happily as Catra approached, as though it was happy to see her. “Move it, Emily,” Catra said. “I’m here to see Entrapta.” The cybertroop obliged, stepping aside.

Inside, Entrapta was looking over some data, as Catra expected her to be. What Catra didn’t expect, however, was for Scorpia to be in there with her, looking at whatever discovery Entrapta had made this time. “Oh, Catra, wonderful timing!” said the purple-haired scientist, turning around once she heard Catra enter. “Something weird’s going on.”

“Yeah yeah yeah, weird, I know,” Catra said, brushing her off. “What I want to know is the progress on our new army.”

“Oh, the cybertroops are coming along just fine,” Entrapta said. “No loyalty issues, no residual traces of Horde Prime’s programming, so that’s good. But take a look at this!”

“It’s true, Lord Catra!” said Scorpia. “You might find this interesting.”

“I thought I was very clear when I told you that you two are exempt from calling me ‘Lord’ Catra,” said Catra, a look of annoyance on her face.

“As you command, Lor--I mean, Catra!” said Scorpia. She was clearly having fun with her best friend now being in charge of the Horde.

“Okay, what is this?” Catra asked, walking over to the table. “This had better not interfere with my invasion plans in any way.”

“No, I don’t think it should,” Entrapta said. “But it’s definitely worth further study. You see--”

“We found a star!” blurted Scorpia.

“You…’found a star’?” said Catra. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“I’ll explain,” said Entrapta. “Just five minutes ago, the skies above the Fright Zone were completely normal: not a celestial body in sight, save the moons. However, security cameras over the west sector rooftops picked up  _ this _ nifty little shot!”

Entrapta unveiled the picture in question. Indeed, there seemed to be a small pinprick of light in the sky. Catra, however, was unimpressed. “ _ That’s _ what you’re freaking out about? How do we know it isn’t a firefly, or a rogue spark?”

“That’s just it, though!” exclaimed Entrapta. “I thought it was something like that at first, but it didn’t move, even when I called Scorpia in to look!” Now that it had been brought to her attention, Catra could see that it was not a still picture, but live video feed. The star still hovered in the sky, twinkling slightly on closer inspection. “Whatever it is, it has to be hundreds of miles away,” Entrapta said.

“Okay, that definitely is weird, but it’s nothing we have to worry about if it’s that far away,” Catra said. “Tell me, are we ready to begin the assault?”

“Almost, Lord Catra,” said Scorpia. “But--”

“Good,” said Catra. “Then get ready. You’re with the other Force Captains. Once the ships are ready, we’ll begin marching on the kingdoms. And as for the star…” She gestured towards the video feed. “...put it out of your mind for now. And make sure every single one of those bots is in fighting shape.”

“You got it, Catra!” said Entrapta. Of course, she didn’t take her eyes off the screen as she said this.

Catra just rolled her eyes as she and Scorpia left. “You know, if you keep calling me ‘Lord Catra,’ I’m going to start exclusively referring to you as ‘Force Captain Scorpia.’”

“Fine by me!”

As the pair of them left, Entrapta continued staring at the curious celestial phenomenon. “Now, what’s a star doing here?” she wondered aloud. “I wonder what could be happening up there?”

_ _ _

“Steven? Steven, wake up!”

Steven awoke, taking a moment to realize where he was. He was in his own bedroom, so at least he was where he remembered. Garnet stood by the side of his bed, looking concerned. “Huh? What’s going on?”

“You were talking in your sleep,” said the fusion. “Something about a sword. You were yelling for someone not to go. You...sounded really upset.”

“I was?” Steven tried to remember his dream. All the dreams he had been having the previous nights--or rather, the same dream, over and over again--had been so vivid and memorable. But he couldn’t recall this one, even though he had just been woken up. “What was I saying?”

“Something like ‘Don’t go, don’t go, we need to find the sword,’” said Garnet. “Steven, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I...I’m fine,” he said, getting up. “It’s probably just stress. Today was a long day: the Diamonds wanted me to move in with them, we put the finishing touches on Little Homeworld--yeah, probably just stress, that’s all.”

“Do you need anything?” asked Garnet. “Glass of water? Bedtime story?”

“Thanks, Garnet, but I’m not a kid anymore,” said Steven. Nevertheless, he smiled at the sentiment. “I think some fresh air should do the trick.”

Steven glanced at the clock: it was just after midnight. He descended the stairway into the living room, before making his way out the door onto the porch. With the gentle washing of the waves and the calming sea breeze, he felt better already. He was about ready to head back inside when Garnet joined him.

“I’ve never really had much chance to sit back and enjoy it,” she said, “but I’m really glad Rose chose this place. Something about Earth’s ocean is just...magical.”

“Yeah,” Steven agreed. “All things considered, this was a pretty good place to grow up. I’m glad I get to spend the rest of my life in a place like Beach City.”

“Your whole life?” asked Garnet. “All of it?”

“Why would I want to leave?” he replied. “Everyone I know is here, human and Gem. I’ve spent all my life in Beach City, so what reason would I have to leave?”

“I guess so,” said Garnet. “I just thought you might like some change.”

“Maybe in some futures,” said Steven, glancing up at the stars. “But for this one, I’m content right where I am.”

The stars were really pretty tonight: not a cloud in the sky to block them. Each one shined so brightly, too. Steven glanced around to look for constellations, but decided to just take in the sights when he couldn’t find any. A sky full of stars, each one the same shape and size. And equidistant from each other. Almost like a grid.

It was here that he realized that something was wrong.

“Garnet?” he asked. “What’s up with the stars?”

She looked up at the sky, immediately knowing that something was wrong once Steven pointed it out. The night sky looked so uniform, so artificial. What  _ was _ going on? Then, Garnet stood bold upright in shock as the future vision hit. “Those aren’t stars.”

“They’re what?” said Steven. “Then what are they?”

As if in answer to his question, the lights began to move. Barely noticeable at first, but it soon became apparent that these mysterious objects were coming closer to the ground. Without a word, Steven made a run for his telescope.

Gazing through the lens, Steven tried to focus on one of the descending stars. After a few moments of fiddling with the dials, he eventually managed to get one in sight. The object, light blue in color and triangular in shape, was just dipping beneath the atmosphere.

“It’s a ship,” Steven said in quiet awe. “They’re all ships.  _ Gem _ ships.” He focused the light on more of them. Each one was a different shape and size, but from far away, thor lights could easily have been mistaken for a star. And all of them were coming closer to the ground. “How many of them  _ are _ there!?”

“Steven, wait here, I’ll get Amethyst and Pearl,” said Garnet, her voice almost reaching panic. She hurried inside, leaving Steven to continue gazing at the incoming armada.

“This had better not be the Diamonds’ idea of a party,” Steven grumbled, watching as the ships made landfall. There were so many of them, but even the ones directly above Beach City were landing somewhere beyond the horizon. With the sheer amount of vessels, it seemed like there were enough to surround the entire planet.

This made way for an even greater concern for Steven. If these ships weren’t stars...then where did the real stars go?

“Steven!” He turned around to see Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl running to join him on the hilltop. “Garnet filled us in,” said Pearl. “What did we miss?”

“Um, the ships are starting to land,” Steven said. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s probably my fault. Today, the Diamonds wanted me to stay on Homeworld with them, but I refused. This probably has something to do with that.”

“Whatever it is, let’s hope we can deal with it quickly,” said Amethyst. “We’ve had two years of peace, let’s not ruin it now!”

A light humming noise halted their conversation. Starting gradually, it soon grew into a loud drone. Steven looked up, and immediately found its source: one of the ships was coming down right towards them. And he recognized it immediately.

“That...that’s the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ ,” Steven said, realizing how bad this situation could actually be. “That’s Emerald’s ship.”

As the ship in question grew closer and closer to the ground, the Crystal Gems drew their weapons. All four of them stepped back as the green vessel landed in front of them atop the hill. Smoke rushed out as it came to a stop, obscuring everything from view.

The four stood in tense silence, waiting for Emerald to make the first move. Eventually, a hiss broke the silence: the sound of the ship’s door sliding open. A lone figure stood in the doorway. The smoke made it impossible to see them, but from the silhouette, it clearly wasn’t Emerald.

“Are you Steven Universe?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this one came in a bit late, sorry folks! I can't guarantee I'll be adding new chapters to this one as often as I did for the last entries in this series, but I'm still working. Don't think I've forgotten about it! Anyways, I'll get there eventually. I hope you enjoy the ride!


	3. Your New Best Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new enemy arrives with a vendetta against Steven and his mother. And she's not alone...

Chapter Three: Your New Best Friend

_ _ _

“Um...yeah?” Steven wasn’t sure why he was so unsure about that. He  _ was _ Steven Universe. But in his past experiences, strange Gems asking him if he either was someone or knew where someone was rarely turned out well. Aquamarine and the Ruby Squad both came to mind. “And, uh, who are you?”

The mysterious Gem let out a high pitched cackle as she stepped into the light. Tall, lanky, and pink, she had a large heart-shaped gem on her chest. However, it was upside-down. She grinned from ear to ear as she stepped closer, though her eyes glared daggers at the young human. “Oh, I’m  _ SO _ glad you asked!” she said, her voice dripping with venom beneath her cheery facade.

“It...it’s you,” said Pearl. “But that’s impossible!”

“Wait...Pearl, you know her?” asked Steven. Amethyst and Garnet were similarly surprised.

“On the contrary, it’s  _ very _ possible!” said the pink Gem. “Your old pal Spinel was always one to do the impossible, wasn’t she? Especially now that I’ve made some...new friends!”

Spinel, which seemed to be her name, gestured towards the entrance of the ship she had stepped out of. From within walked another Gem, one whom Steven was a bit more familiar with. “Emerald!” he exclaimed.

The green Gem stepped onto the grass, flanked by a pair of armed Citrines. “Disgusting planet…” she muttered to herself, before focusing on Steven and the other Crystal Gems. “But yes, it is I, Emerald! Commander of Homeworld’s spaceborne legions...or at least, I was. Until you came along.” Emerald, too, was glaring at the boy.

Just as Steven was about to say something in his defence, Spinel popped up in front of Emerald, pointing at him. “You ruined the both of us!” she shouted.

Emerald sighed. “Spinel, just...just let me handle this.” She gently nudged Spinel aside. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes! Thanks to you, Steven Universe, I was stripped of my status as Homeworld’s greatest admiral!” She stomped closer; the Gems raised their weapons, but she didn’t seem to care. “You disassembled the empire. You tore down everything I had worked so hard to build. You took everything from me! ...Some of it literally.”

“Emerald…” said Steven. “When I talked the Diamonds down, I was trying to save Homeworld. I’m sorry about your status and all that, but you’re free now! You don’t have to follow the Diamonds’ orders anymore! You can do anything you want!”

Both Emerald and Spinel laughed at this. “Boy, he sure has that right!” the latter said.

“What do you mean?” asked Steven.

“What she means is, those last two statements were absolutely correct!” said Emerald. “I can do whatever I want...and what I want is to retake what you stole from me, even if I have to tear this planet apart to do it!”

Spinel once more popped up in front of her, causing the green Gem to lean to the side with a look of irritation. “Exactly! And what  _ I _ want  _ is _ to tear this planet apart!” She stepped away from Emerald, who shook her head in exasperation. “This planet that she loved so much, that she chose over me...I’m going to destroy it all!” She glared at Steven. “Starting with you.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and what makes you think we’ll let you? Heck, what makes you think the Diamonds’ll let you? Somehow I don’t think they’ll be too happy with you two hurting their precious Pink.”

Emerald let out a small chuckle. “That’s the beauty of it all, little off-color! The Diamonds have no say in this. Me and my...ugh... _ new best friend _ took care of that.” Spinel beamed, while Emerald just groaned again. “And do you know why?”

“Why?” Steven asked hesitantly.

“Why, just look around you!” Emerald exclaimed. She threw out her arms, gesturing all around them. “How can the Diamonds send help to their  _ precious Pink _ , if her horrible little planet...is nowhere to be found?”

Steven suddenly realized what she meant: there were no stars in the night sky. Somehow, Emerald had managed to do...something to make the Earth inaccessible to the rest of the universe. “H-how?”

“Oh, it was no big thang!” said Spinel, throwing an arm around Emerald’s shoulders. Emerald slowly removed the arm, brushing off her shoulder. “Do you happen to know anything about...Project: Drawbridge?”

“Um...no, actually, I don’t,” said Steven.

Spinel deflated considerably at this, quite literally. “Oh. Well, that takes the winds out of my sails. Emmy, you wanna get ‘em up to speed?”

“I would love to do nothing more,” said Emerald in monotone. “All you need to know, Steven Universe, is that your fellow Diamonds can’t help you now. It’s just you versus us. And we hold the advantages in this fight. For example...Spinel? Weapon out.”

“Right-o, friend-o!” she said excitedly. Her heart-shaped gemstone began to glow. Reaching into it, Spinel pulled out an object that looked quite like a pen. However, once she clicked the button on it, the object grew into the handle of a weapon. A pink blade of energy materialized on the edge, turning it into a scythe, which Spinel held above herself menacingly.

“What...I don’t...Garnet, do something!” shouted Pearl.

Garnet stepped forwards--she lowered her gauntlets, but still kept them on her fists. “Okay...I don’t know who you are,” she nodded towards Spinel, “but  _ you _ need to get off this planet. Now. You and all your cronies.”

Spinel let out an exaggerated gasp at this remark. “Wh--B--J-- _ Cronies!? _ Excuse me, kind madame, but Spinel is  _ nobody’s _ crony! Not anymore!” She waved her scythe at the Gems. “I’ve got half a mind, I do!”

“Spinel, just wait a moment,” said Emerald, holding out her arm. “Steven Universe, I am going to give you one chance to save your world: give me the location of Lars of the Stars and his crew.”

So that was what she wanted. “Is that all?” said Steven. “You just want your ship back? I’m sure if we talk to Lars, we can work something out--”

“There will be no working of anything out,” Emerald said. “Tell me where that infernal Captain Lars and his degenerate crew are hiding, so that I can make them suffer for everything they’ve done to me! I will take back my beloved  _ Sun Incinerator _ by force, or destroy everything on this planet trying. Only you can make that decision, Steven Universe.”

“Wh...no!” Steven exclaimed. “I can’t tell you where Lars is if you’re gonna hurt him!”

Emerald nodded. She grinned, seemingly serene, but it was clear that she was growing tired of this back-and-forth. “I can’t say I expected anything different,” she muttered. “Very well. I’ll simply have to find him myself.  _ Without _ your help.” She looked at Spinel, before nodding towards the Crystal Gems. Spinel grinned.

Faster than Steven could blink, Spinel launched herself at the Gems. Only Garnet was quick enough, grabbing the scythe before it could slice through anyone, as the other three dove out of the way.

“So, you must be Garnet, then!” said Spinel. “Tell me...what was it like when Rose Quartz--er, excuse me, Pink Diamond, left you? To become that?” she said, gesturing to Steven. “What did that feel like?”

Pearl tried to help Garnet by lunging at Spinel, swinging her spear at her head. However, Spinel simply pulled her head into her body like it was made of rubber, dodging the blow. She stuck her tongue out at Pearl before looking back at Garnet, still wrestling with her for control of the scythe.

“No, really, go on, answer!” Spinel urged. “I want to get some info! Did it hurt? Were you devastated? Please, tell me!”

Garnet was trying to stay silent, but opened her mouth to answer. However, as soon as she did so, Spinel interrupted.

“WRONG!” Spinel leaned back, throwing Garnet behind her and regaining her grip on the scythe. “The correct answer was, it didn’t. Not nearly enough. And do you know why?” Spinel loomed over Garnet. “Because you got to say goodbye.”

Spinel raised the scythe to strike Garnet, but Amethyst caught her wrist with her whip. The pink Gem turned to face her. “Ah, and you must be Amethyst! So nice to meet you!”

“Is it?” asked Amethyst. “‘Cause I get the feeling you don’t really like any of us!”

Spinel laughed. “Ooh, perceptive, isn’t she?” She then flung her arm at Amethyst, the limb extending into a whip much like currently held. Her hand grabbed onto Amethyst’s wrist in a mirror of Spinel’s current predicament. “So...what’s your next move?”

Amethyst yanked on her whip, pulling the scythe out of Spinel’s grip. The surprise caused Spinel to release her grip on the Quartz, who took the time to curl up into a ball and launch herself at her attacker. Spinel, however, was quicker. Both of her legs extended, nearly doubling her height, with Amethyst passing harmlessly between them. Amethyst then collided with Garnet, sending both of them tumbling.

Smirking, Spinel then went to retrieve her weapon, only to find someone had beat her to it. “Well well well, if it isn’t pretty little Pearl!” she said. “Good job, by the way. On being chosen by Pink. Over me. I just thought I’d congratulate you.”

“Spinel, you don’t have to do this!” said Pearl.

“Uh,  _ duh _ !” Spinel said. “Emmy went over that earlier. I’m doing this because I  _ want _ to!”

Pearl tried to gradually creep towards the scythe before Spinel caught on. “Can’t you see that Emerald is just using you?” she said?

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Spinel said. “But you know why I don’t mind? Emerald may say she’s my friend, but only be using me for her own ends...but at least she’s honest about it. Unlike someone we know…”

Pearl glared at Spinel. Unfortunately, this momentary lapse in judgement also made her move closer to the scythe, causing Spinel to catch on. Pearl dove for the weapon, only for Spinel’s boot to collide with her face, knocking her back. The stretchy Gem pulled the scythe back to herself, walking closer to Pearl’s dazed form.

“She left you behind too, you know. Abandoned you. Threw you aside. Like  _ trash _ .”

“You can’t speak for her!” Pearl summoned her spear again, lunging at Spinel...who was quicker. With one swing, the scythe cut through Pearl’s form, causing lines of pink energy to spread across her body. Her physical form then disappeared in a puff of smoke, her gemstone falling to the ground.

“Pearl!” yelled Steven. He had stayed on the sidelines for most of the fight, but the shock of seeing Pearl get destabilized caused him to instinctively summon his shield. “Get away from her!”

“Spinel!” shouted Emerald, who had likewise been passively watching. “Stop toying with them and wrap this up!”

“‘Wrap this up?’ Don’t mind if I do!” said Spinel. She sprang into the air, landing on the side of the nearby lighthouse. Her whole body contorted into a spring shape, which she used to hurl herself at Garnet and Amethyst.

Both Gems were able to dodge to the side, but Spinel expected this. Though her initial attack missed, she extended her legs out to her sides. Each one wrapped around a Gem, ensnaring Garnet and Amethyst like a pair of giant pink snakes.

Knowing they would be able to free themselves soon, Spinel pulled the two over to her. Although they saw it coming, there was nothing neither of them could do. All it took was one swing of Spinel’s weapon, and they shared Pearl’s fate.

Great work, great work!” said Emerald as the three gemstones landed in the grass. She sounded genuinely impressed. “Now  _ end him _ !”

Spinel was just about to comply when something slammed into her, causing her to spin around in place. Once she stopped spinning, and shook off the resulting dizziness, she found that the something in question was Steven. He held his shield out in front of him, wearing an uncharacteristic glare. “I don’t know who you are, or why you’re helping Emerald, but I do know that you don’t attack my friends!”

“Oh, he fancies himself a little hero!” said Spinel. “Just like his mommy!”

“Don’t pretend like you know her!” Steven snarled.

Spinel giggled. “Oh, didn’t she tell you? Pink Diamond and me--we go way back! Why, I knew her before she even knew about this nowhere planet!”

“You...knew my mom?” said Steven, his anger subsiding, but only slightly.

“Yup, sure did!” Spinel exclaimed. “In fact, it’s because of her...that I’m going to make sure the only thing left of this planet are ashes and broken promises. Just like what she left me with…”

“What are you--?”

Before Steven could get confirmation, Spinel lunged. Steven held up his shield, expecting it to block the blow, only for the scythe to pass right through it. His shield vanished, replaced with an odd tingling sensation. When Steven looked at his arm, he saw that it was covered with the same pink markings that appeared on the Gems before they had poofed. They soon faded, but the sensation remained.

“Hmm, that’s weird,” Spinel said, scratching her head. “Usually, all it takes is one slice!”

“Hit him again! He’s part Diamond, he might take more!” yelled Emerald, growing impatient.

Spinel complied, striking Steven again and again. The energy blade of the scythe passed through Steven’s body, leaving only the glowing markings behind. “Would...you...stop... _ hitting me _ !?” Steven grabbed hold of the weapon, trying to wrest it away from its owner.

“You’re a resilient one, little Universe, I’ll give you that!” said Spinel. “But let’s see how well you fare without your mommy’s help!”

“Enough!” In a fit of sudden Diamond strength, Steven yanked the scythe out of Spinel’s grip. So forcefully, in fact, that the blade cut through Spinel’s form. Like with the three Gems before her, the pink lines spread out over her body. Spinel said nothing, only laughing, as the energy consumed her. Her laughter grew deeper and deeper, until finally, she too was poofed.

Steven took several deep breaths, trying to assess the situation. The Gems had been poofed, yes, but it wasn’t anything he hadn’t dealt with before. He was sure they would be fine--what he was truly worried about was Emerald and her army.

“Looks like I underestimated you, Steven Universe,” she said. “So, have you changed your mind? Now that I’ve shown you what my forces are capable of, will you take me to Lars?”

“Why are you doing this!?” said Steven, sounding more frustrated than angry. “It’s just a ship, you have hundreds of them! What makes this one so special?” He got to his feet, walking towards the green Gem.

Emerald and her guards, however, shied away from him. Or rather, from the weapon he still held in his hands. “So, you’re playing like that?” she said. Emerald ushered the two Citrines back into the ship, with her close behind. “You’ll regret everything you’ve ever done to me! You and Captain Lars both!”

“Wait!” shouted Steven, as the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ rose up into the air. “Where are we? What did you do!?”

Emerald chuckled. Just before the door closed, she offered a small bit of insight to Steven. “You’re in Despondos now, little Diamond.”

Despondos. The last time he had heard that name had been two years ago. Everything rushed back to him: Etheria. She-Ra. Adora. Catra. Skeletor. Horde Prime. Emerald had somehow sent the Earth to Despondos.

As the revelation washed over him, Emerald’s ship sped off into the air. He could still see it, hovering just a few miles above Beach City.

However, as Steven collected the fallen gemstones of his family, along with Spinel’s, he noticed another light in the sky. He knew there were no stars in Despondos, so there was only one thing it could have been.

Etheria.

_ _ _

2 years ago...

Although most inhabitants of Etheria believed otherwise, the seemingly-inhospitable desert known as the Crimson Waste was teeming with life. Not just plants and animals, but people as well. Mainly runaways and criminals, there was nevertheless a thriving community among the bright red sands, kept secret from the outside world.

Watering holes were common in this desert, including one frequented by the most notorious figure in the entire Crimson Waste: a desert raider known as Huntara. However, this very same bar had recently been visited by a new, and highly unwelcome, customer.

Broken furniture and shattered glasses littered the floor. As did the battered and bruised forms of numerous patrons. Groaning in pain, nursing their wounds, or simply unconscious, something had torn its way through every single one of them. Or rather, some _ one _ had.

The amazonian warrior stood stalwart, despite the strength her opponent had shown. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here and picking fights, after everything you’ve done,” she growled.

“I suppose so,” said her foe. Hordak stood in the center of the room, Imp perched on his arm. There was barely a scratch on his armor. “And with this ‘nerve’ I have displayed, I take it you will reconsider my offer... _ Force Captain Huntara _ ?”

Huntara scoffed. “Not a chance. I served you once, I’ll never do it again.”

“Is that so?” said Hordak. “And here I thought the philosophy of the Crimson Waste was to serve whoever was the strongest. And haven’t I proven myself stronger than anyone here?”

Huntara gripped tighter to her modified battle-staff. “Not yet you haven’t,” she said quietly. She charged, raising her weapon and bringing it down onto Hordak’s head. Hordak, however, proved himself far stronger than he looked, stopping the blow with a single hand. He threw the weapon behind him, where it embedded into the wall. Huntara tried to follow up with a punch, but Hordak simply caught this as well. He held out his other hand, a glowing light shining from his palm. A red blast of energy shot out, throwing Huntara back into the bar, crashing through it.

Hordak looked down at his armor. “Entrapta truly has outdone herself,” he said, mostly to himself. “Now then...what was that you were saying about me not proving myself?”

Huntara growled. Hordak had torn through the others in less than a minute, but she had lasted nearly twenty. Despite her impressive endurance, her body was beginning to give out. Hordak, being practically more machine than man, did not have this problem. She hated to admit it, but he had conquered the planet for a reason. Reluctantly, she stayed down.

“Good,” said Hordak with a grin. He stepped up onto the bar, addressing all of his latest victims. “Congratulations. You have all been selected to become the latest members of the Horde. Any previous loyalties you possessed are now null and void; you will answer only to me, and me alone. Our first order of business: taking back the Fright Zone from the traitorous Catra.”


	4. The New Horde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess Alliance goes to attack a new Horde outpost, where they discover why the Horde has been inactive for so long.

Chapter Four: The New Horde

_ _ _

Whatever the star-like object in the skies over Etheria was, it was causing quite a stir across the planet. Many who had heard the stories of the times before Despondos thought it could be the first of many of its kind. Those who had never heard of the stars worried it may be some kind of Horde weapon.

Speaking of the Horde, although the Princess Alliance was also concerned about the newly-appeared celestial body, they also had to deal with problems much closer to home.

As the members of the Rebellion sat around the war table, Brightmoon’s General outlined the information retrieved by their scouts. “The Horde seems to have set up some kind of base just due south of the town of Almura. The residents have been evacuated, but our scouts have reported that this outpost is much larger than the ones we’ve previously dealt with. Adding to that, the exact location is also of note: their base is positioned directly on top of a vein of rare metals--exactly the ones the Horde uses to make its armor and robots.”

“Then it doesn’t take a genius to figure out why they’re there,” Mermista said. “What should we do?”

“Duh! We should head down there and mess their whole thing up!” said Frosta, eager as always.

Queen Angella wasn’t so sure. “I don’t think that is the best course of--”

Glimmer, however, was completely on board. “Mom, Frosta’s right,” she said. “Whatever the Horde wants that metal for, it can’t be good. And since they don’t know we’re coming, we’d be in the perfect position for an ambush. We go in, all of us, and stop whatever they’re planning before it even begins!”

“Glimmer, please,” said Angella. “We have no idea what they’re doing there. For all we know,  _ they _ could be the ones leading  _ us _ into an ambush! We need to at least send in a small scout force first.”

“But Mom, that’s what we just did!” Glimmer said. “Besides, they can’t be all that tough, right? The Horde’s been inactive for two years now!”

“Most likely because they’ve been biding their time,” Angella countered. “We have no way of knowing what exactly they’ve been doing in all that time, but, as you yourself said, it can’t be good.”

Seeing that tensions were beginning to rise, Adora raised her hand. “Angella--um, your majesty, might I suggest a compromise?”

Angella leaned back in her chair. “Go on…”

“You mentioned that we should send scouts in first. Me, Bow, and Glimmer could do that, and if we get into trouble, the other princesses could be waiting for our signal to bail us out! That way, we can try and do things subtly, but we have a backup plan if things go sideways!”

“Yeah, we’ll have a way to ambush the ambushers!” said Bow. “What do you say, Queen?”

Judging by her facial expression, Angella didn’t think too highly of the plan. But, given Glimmer’s expression,  _ she _ certainly did. “Very well,” she said, relenting.

“Yes! We won’t let you down, promise!” Glimmer said.

“You will only let me down if you do not return safely,” said the Queen. “Which I have the utmost faith you will. Yes?”

“Don’t worry, Mom, we’ll be fine!” said Glimmer. To demonstrate, she teleported several times around the room, ending up beside her mother. “I’ve been practicing!” With that, she warped out of the room.

“Almura, here we come!” said Perfuma, getting up out of her chair. The others followed suit. “I hope we have some time to spend there after we free them from the Horde. I hear they make wonderful cake there!”

“Hey, leave some for me!” said Adora. She was about to leave, when Angella spoke up.

“Adora.”

“Hmm?” The girl turned around.

“I’ve noticed that Glimmer has been a bit restless lately,” she said. “She’s been wanting to get out into the field more and more. I worry that her impulsiveness may put her in danger.” She looked down for a moment, before returning her gaze to Adora. “Just promise me you’ll look out for her, won’t you?”

Adora, filled with resolve by Angella’s request, nodded. “You can count on me, Angella,” she said, holding out the Sword of Protection for emphasis. She turned to leave after the others. Angella smiled, knowing that Adora would keep her promise.

_ _ _

Upon arriving at their destination, the group soon found that the Horde was indeed after the metals present. Huge drills, constructed from the remains of Horde Prime’s machinery, tore through the earth to reveal the coveted material. Horde soldiers and modified cybertroops transported the metal into large trucks, where it would be taken back to the Fright Zone to be refined, and converted into more machines of war.

“I’ll admit, this operation is a bit bigger than I expected,” Glimmer whispered as she peered out from the trees. “Anyone have any ideas?”

“All we have to do is destroy those giant drills,” said Bow.

“Oh, is  _ that _ all?” Adora said. “Why do I get the feeling that’ll be easier said than done?”

“Because it probably will be,” replied Glimmer. “But we might as well get to it.” She pointed towards the nearest drill, indicating its control panel. “If we can hijack that drill, we might be able to use it against the other ones. Let’s go!”

Glimmer teleported towards cover, with Bow and Adora following her. They snuck past the guards, avoiding being spotted thanks to more of her teleports. Soon enough, they reached the drill’s control room. Only two soldiers were present.

“Okay, here’s what we’ll do,” said Bow. “Me and Glimmer will take out those two, and Adora, you stand guard.”

“Got it!” Adora said, saluting. Bow and Glimmer nodded, heading off down the hallway.

While Adora waited for the pair to deal with the guards, she heard someone talking in the distance. Normally, she would have paid this no mind past a quick glance, but she recognized the voice. It was one she hadn’t heard in so long.

“Catra?”

In spite of herself, Adora had to see where she was. Scanning her surroundings to make sure there were no troopers around, she slunk towards where the voice was coming from. Her search led her to a nearby tent, with the flap open; she peered inside.

An incredibly tall figure stood inside, made entirely of stone. Adora recognized him as Callix, one of the Horde’s Force Captains. He was holding a data pad of some sort, which is where Catra’s voice seemed to be coming from.

“Your instincts were correct,” said Callix, his voice deep and slow. “There is enough here to double our current cybertroop count.”

“I’m not interested in cybertroops anymore,” Catra’s voice said. “If Entrapta’s theories are correct--which they usually are, surprisingly--then someone else found a way to bring another planet into Despondos. And if they found a way in, that means we have a way out.”

Another planet in Despondos? Could that be what the light in the sky was? Adora pondered this for a moment, as well as the fact that Catra was alive and well.

Meanwhile, Bow, having taken out the two guards alongside Glimmer, tried to figure out how to work the drill. “Just give me a minute,” he said. “This reverse-engineered Horde Prime tech isn’t exactly what I’m used to…”

Unfortunately for them, because Adora wasn’t present to watch for guards, one was able to waltz right in and notice two members of the Princess Alliance fiddling with the controls, next to two unconscious Horde soldiers. “Hey!” he shouted, drawing his stun baton and aiming it at the pair. “Don’t move!”

Of course, their first instinct was to move. Bow drew his bow and fired a net arrow, but not before the trooper fired a blast of energy from his baton. The shot whizzed past Bow and Glimmer, colliding with the control panel and short-circuiting it. “That’s probably not good, is it?” Glimmer said.

The drill, currently rotating at full speed, suddenly and unexpectedly ground to a halt. Callix looked up from his call; although Adora tried to duck out of sight, his piercing green eyes caught her vanishing. “Lord Catra...I think your old friend is here.”

“You know what to do,” Catra responded. The feed cut out.

“Intruders!” Callix shouted. “Arm yourselves!” Horde soldiers and cybertroops alike dropped what they were doing and began looking for the invaders.

“Guess it’s time for plan B!” said Adora. “For the Honor of Grayskull!”

With a blinding flash of light, Adora was transformed into the titanic warrior She-Ra. Still holding her sword aloft, she fired a blue beam of light from her blade, which traveled into the sky where it burst like a firework.

A short distance away, the other three princesses noticed this. “That’s our signal!” said Mermista. “Let’s go!”

As Adora fended off a group of soldiers, Glimmer and Bow teleported next to her. “Adora, where were you?” asked Glimmer, slightly annoyed. “You were supposed to be our lookout!”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry!” Adora quickly apologized. “I thought I heard Catra, and I went to go look for her, and--careful!”

The giant warrior woman yanked Glimmer out of harm’s way as a Horde bot fired a beam in her direction. The laser missed, colliding with some crates in the distance. “Thanks,” Glimmer said. “We’ll worry about that later, let’s focus on these guys for now!”

Adora’s sword morphed into a shield to block a barrage of lasers, fired at them from a group of cybertroops. Bow retaliated by firing an arrow of his own, which embedded in the ground at the bots’ feet. It then exploded, demolishing the lot of them.

“This is great teamwork and all, but what are we supposed to do about these drills?” Bow asked.

In reply, the sound of creaking metal caught the group’s attention. The nearest drill was being pulled up out of the earth by an unseen force; soon revealing itself to be vines. Perfuma made her appearance, carried in by more vines as she tore the machine asunder. “Plan B has arrived!” she proclaimed.

With her came a blast of frigid air and a torrent of water, throwing around the remaining Horde soldiers. Frosta and Mermista entered the fray, freezing one drill and washing another away, respectively.

However, they weren’t done yet. A nearby wall of ice began to crack, as though something large was attempting to burst through it. And burst it did, sending shards of ice towards the heroes. The form of Callix stood in the newly-created hole, wielding an underslung drill weapon on one arm.

“Adora the traitor!” he said, pointing the drill at her. “I’ve waited a long time to face you myself! And won’t Catra be pleased when I drag you back to the Fright Zone, along with all your new friends!”

“The only thing you’ll be dragging is your sorry but back to Hordak!” said Frosta, as she sent a wave of ice in his direction.

Callix simply thrust the drill forwards, shattering the icy wall to pieces. “Hordak, hmm? Catra was right, you princess types really are behind the times!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Adora. “Did something happen to Hordak? And what’s going on with Catra?”

Callix took on a defensive stance, holding the drill behind him. “Come closer and I’ll tell you!”

Adora rushed forwards, knowing that Callix would attempt to strike her. And he did, thrusting the drill forwards once more. Knowing it was coming, Adora was able to duck under his attack, and retaliate with a strike from her own weapon.

The Sword of Protection collided with Callix’s arm, shattering the appendage. Bits of rock fell to the ground at his feet, but he was unbothered by losing an arm. The rocks simply began to float back towards their original places, and his arm was as good as new.

“Not good enough, princess!” Callix raised his drill above his head, preparing to bring it down on Adora.

“Adora, look out!” Perfuma sent forward some vines to entangle Callix. While these were successful in preventing Callix from attacking Adora, they weren’t enough to keep him down. He used his drill to tear through the plants binding him faster than Perfuma could replace them.

Adora continued to strike at the distracted Callix, as did Glimmer. However, even with both princesses striking him at once, they were unable to do any lasting damage. Any part of the rock giant’s body that they were able to chip away, he simply pulled back into place.

As Adora and Glimmer battled Callix, Bow noticed something important: on the Force Captain’s drill weapon, an exhaust port was located on the back. Steam periodically hissed from the port as the weapon spun. With his knowledge of technology, Bow knew that an exhaust port was absolutely essential to a machine like this.

Not wanting Callix to realize his plan, Bow silently lined up an arrow. He would only get one shot at this before Callix was on to him. He waited for just the right moment, when the rock giant had his back turned, and let the arrow fly. It wasn’t a perfect shot, but it hit its mark nonetheless.

Lacking a nervous system, Callix didn’t notice when his drill began to overheat. However, he did notice when it began to hiss and groan from the strain. “How did--” was all he managed to say before it exploded.

Of course, Callix himself was unbothered, even with most of his torso missing. He simply began to call the missing stones back into place. Adora was able to notice something before he did: Located in his chest was a glowing green tetrahedron of sorts. This crystal was Callix’s true body.

“We have to get to his heart! That’s his weakness!” Adora shouted to the others.

“Easier said than done!” Callix replied, pounding his stone fists together.

“It is, so we might as well get to it!” Glimmer replied. She rushed forwards, teleporting out of the way just as Callix slammed a fist into the ground, creating a sizable crater. Mermista followed up by sending a jet of water at the Force Captain.

“Let’s see how you handle a little erosion!” she said.

Despite the sheer force of the water, Callix stood where he was, even taking a few steps forwards. “You don’t have the thousands of years to spare! Your time is almost up!”

“Oh, is it?” said Adora. One of Perfuma’s vines was wrapped around her waist, suspending her in midair. Perfuma thrust her arm forward, and the vine threw Adora straight at the Force Captain, unable to move because of Mermista’s torrent.

Adora slammed into him, leading with the Sword of Protection in shield form. The impact was enough to completely break Callix apart; his body broke into pieces, while his core was thrown some distance away. But even this wasn’t enough to put him down.

Callix’s core levitated into the air, calling the rocks that made up his body back towards him. But before they could reach him, They were blocked by a wall of ice. Frosta, thinking quickly, encased Callix in a chunk of ice before he could regenerate. The rocks collided with the ice, but were unable to do more than stick to the surface as though they were magnetized.

“Behind the times, and yet a force to be reckoned with,” Callix said, his voice coming from the prism. “Catra was correct on both accounts.”

Adora reverted back to her original form, approaching the miniature glacier. The rocks that had been Callix’s body orbited his core, unable to return to it. “Enough games, Callix! Tell us what’s going on!”

“Oh? Nothing beyond the ordinary,” he said. “The Horde is attempting to conquer this planet, and I am honor-bound to aid its leader in that purpose.”

“You keep saying stuff like that,” said Mermista. “You make it sound like Hordak isn’t in charge anymore.”

Callix chuckled. “Proficient strategists you are, I had assumed you would have been able to piece it together by now! But, since it’s apparent you continue to overlook the clues, I will tell you: Hordak disappeared years ago, during Horde Prime’s occupation.”

“He...disappeared?” said Glimmer. “Like, into thin air?”

“Into thin air,” Callix continued. “None know where he is, or even if he is still alive. What is known is that another was more than happy to take his place!”

“You don’t mean…?” said Bow, dreading the answer.

“Is it not obvious? The Horde is now under the command of Lord Catra!” said Callix. “And a truly ruthless leader she is! If only you knew what she had prepared for you!”

“Oh yeah? And what  _ does _ she have planned?” asked Frosta.

“Now, now, I can’t spoil  _ all _ the surprises!” Callix said. “But how does this feel, Adora? Your old friend, now the commander of the Horde!”

“So  _ that’s _ why I haven’t seen her in so long…” Adora said. “This isn’t good.”

“You’re telling me!” said Mermista. “I don’t really know Catra personally, but from what you three have said about her, this...yeah, this  _ really _ isn’t good.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Perfuma, the nervousness in her voice clear.

“Right now, we go back to Brightmoon,” said Adora. “This place is trashed, so I think it’s safe to say the Horde won’t be coming back. We’ll report back to Angella for now, and come up with our next course of action.”

The others agreed. Whatever was going to happen next, chances are things were going to get much worse. Adora knew that Catra was much more ruthless than Hordak, and that combined with the Horde Prime tech at her disposal--she shuddered to think what ‘Lord Catra’ was capable of.


	5. Rebooted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emerald gives the Earth an ultimatum, and Steven deals with the aftermath of Spinel's attack.

Chapter Five: Rebooted

_ _ _

Panic had more or less set in across the whole of planet Earth. Memories of Horde Prime’s invasion were still fresh in the minds of people all across the globe; memories that these vessels, one hovering above just about every city on the planet, each one bristling with weapons, brought flooding right back.

Gems was nowhere near as common in other cities as they were in Beach City, though most people these days knew of their existence, even if they had never seen a Gem in person. Some were savvy enough to recognize the starships above them as Gem in origin. But with Homeworld and Earth at Peace, what these invaders wanted was beyond even the humans’ top scientists. However, as the governments of the world scrambled for answers, the invaders would introduce themselves.

A signal suddenly appeared, being broadcast across the globe. Its origin would later be traced to one ship in particular, somewhere above Delmarva, but all the other ships in the fleet acted as transmitters, broadcasting the invaders’ message to everyone and every place able to receive it. On every television, phone, anything with a screen, the face of a green Gem appeared. Radios could only transmit her voice, but the message came through clearly, no matter where it was being heard.

“Are you all hearing this?” Emerald asked. She silently inspected some things outside the humans’ point of view, confirming that her audio was active. “Good, good. Now then, I’ll cut right to the chase. Hello, pitiful insects! This is Emerald, one of the greatest, if not  _ the _ greatest, fleet commander in Homeworld’s history, speaking. I’d ask you to listen for a while, but I don’t have to, seeing as you’re a captive audience!”

All around the world, people stood in terror, though perhaps not as much as before. Nevertheless, they still waited to hear Emerald’s plans for them.

“As even primitive slugs such as yourself are no doubt aware, the former Diamond Authority has been disbanded, and Homeworld’s once-great empire along with it, by none other than one of your own. Steven Quartz Universe, son of the traitorous Pink Diamond.” The screen briefly flickered to one of Steven, before Emerald returned. “As you might imagine, some of us have taken issue with this little fact. To have Gemkind not only reduced to a shell of its former self, but now living side-by-side with you underdeveloped Earth monkeys, is simply unacceptable. However, primate or not, I am giving your species one last chance to avoid your rightful fate of annihilation at our hands.”

The screen now turned to two images: one of the  _ Sun Incinerator _ , and the other of Lars himself, post-resurrection.

“This lowly individual is Captain Lars, also known as Lars of the Stars, a notorious space pirate. Also pictured is the ship he stole from me, known as the  _ Sun Incinerator _ . Captain Lars has taken refuge among you, hiding like a coward while you are in danger. He is also known to associate with a twinned Rutile, a defective Padparadscha Sapphire, two cross-Gem fusions known as Rhodonite and Fluorite, as well as the aforementioned Steven Universe.”

The image shifted back to Emerald. Her expression was one of smug satisfaction, as though humanity’s surrender was assured. However, due to her twitching eye, it was apparent that she was beginning to lose a bit of her already-frayed sanity.

“You all have a collective forty-eight hours to bring Lars of the Stars and his crew to justice, and return the vessel he stole to its rightful owner. After that, you will all be blown back to the stone age by my like-minded friends. It doesn’t seem like too long ago to us, but I imagine it would be quite an inconvenience to you. Attempt to fight back, and you will be met with the same result. Attempt to negotiate,  _ and you will be met with the same result _ . And yes, that includes all of you Gems down there as well. By associating with the humans, you are no better than they are. And Lars, if you’re watching this…” She leaned in closer to the screen. “...I hope you realize the importance you now have. If you would simply turn yourself in, this all could be avoided. But it never is that easy with you, is it? I implore you, and the rest of your race, to make the right choice. Emerald out.”

The video feed went nowhere, Emerald’s face still appearing on every screen across the globe. She glanced around, confused.

“A-are we still live? How do we...No, no, that one’s audio, I know, how do I turn it  _ off _ ?” An inaudible offscreen voice directed her to the correct switch. “Ah, I see. Farewell, pitiful hu--”

The feed then cut off.

Up on the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , Emerald then got up from her chair. “There. I think they got the gist of that,” she said. “Before long, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ will be back in my hands, and Lars will be a thorn in my side no more!” She gave a disdainful look over her shoulder at the planet below. “And the Earth will be left in this empty dimension, where it belongs…”

Attention was now drawn to the ships hovering above the world. Heated debates raged on what should be done, but the message was clear: there was only one way to avoid extinction. Where were the Crystal Gems when they were needed?

_ _ _

Greg shut off the TV. “So...tell me again what happened out there.”

Steven, after Emerald had left, had brought all of the poofed Gems inside, including the hostile newcomer. “She just...she got everyone,” he said. “Emerald and this one,” he pointed to the pink gemstone, “showed up out of nowhere. She used this.”

He produced the pen-like object from his pocket. Clicking it caused it to extend into the energy scythe he had seen Spinel use to cut down the others. Greg, of course, was startled by this.

“What the heck even  _ is _ that thing!?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Steven admitted. He still held onto the weapon as he explained. “It must be some sort of destabilizer or something, but I’ve never seen one like this before. And I can’t go to the Diamonds, or Hessonite, or anyone else for help. I asked Bismuth to come over as soon as she could, but--”

As if on cue, the screen door to Steven’s house opened, and Bismuth herself walked in. “So, what is it that you wanted to…” She paused when she saw not only all the gems sitting on the table, but also the weapon in Steven’s hand. “... _ Wow _ . I knew this was gonna be bad, but this is way worse than I thought.”

“Steven! What happened?” Lapis and Peridot entered as well. “Where is she? Where’s Emerald?” The former seemed ready to throw down.

Peridot, however, was immediately concerned over the weapon Steven held. “Steven, where did you get that!?”

“This?” Steven retracted the weapon into its compact form. Bismuth took it to examine it. “That pink Gem with the stretchy powers used it to...well, you can see what she did with it. Emerald said her name was Spinel.”

Peridot was confused. “Wait, why would Emerald have gotten help from a Spinel?” she asked, to nobody in particular. “I mean, I know Homeworld cultural norms are being phased out, but it still doesn’t make much sense.”

“Why’s that?” Greg asked.

“Spinels are...well, they’re basically playmates,” Lapis explained. “They’re just supposed to be silly and make their owners happy. They aren’t built to fight.”

“Neither are Pearls,” Steven said, glancing at Pearl’s gemstone. “She did say she knew my mom, though.”

“I don’t ever remember Rose mentioning a ‘Spinel,’” said Greg. “Of course, I don’t remember her mentioning being Pink Diamond, either. But at least that’s something she would have wanted to keep secret. Why wouldn’t she ever mention her?”

“It probably had something to do with her time as Pink Diamond,” Steven guessed. “Pearl seemed to know her, too; we’ll ask her once she reforms.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that, Steven,” said Bismuth. She held up the device: “I don’t know how our little friend here got her hands on this thingy, but she clearly didn’t want us Crystal Gems getting in her way.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Greg said. “What is that thing, exactly?”

“This...is a rejuvenator,” Bismuth said. “Homeworld started building these during the War, once too many Gems started joining our side for their liking. One poofing blow from one of these, and everything, your memories, your loyalty, your character development-- _ gone _ . It’ll be like you just crawled outta the ground.”

Peridot gulped. “It’s like one big reset button.”

“Exactly,” Bismuth continued. “Once they reform, they aren’t gonna remember who we are. They aren’t even gonna remember who  _ they _ are. They’ll think they’re just...nobody.”

Steven looked at the Gems, laying inert on the coffee table. Was it really possible? These Gems had been with him for his entire life, and once they reformed, they’d just see him as one human among millions.

“Is...is there any way we can reverse it?” asked Lapis.

“Well...sort of,” said Bismuth.

“‘Sort of?’ That doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence,” Peridot said.

“Just let me finish! A rejuvenator doesn’t completely erase a Gem’s memories, it just blocks them. They’re still in there, deep down. Deep,  _ deep _ down. All it would take is to remind them of who they are, but that’s gonna be easier said than--”

A bright light coming from the table interrupted Bismuth. Steven, initially hopeful that one, if not more, of the Gems was returning, grew worried when he noticed that it was Spinel’s gemstone doing the glowing. He was about to summon his shield, only to remind herself what Bismuth had said: Spinel wouldn’t remember them, or even herself.

“Should we be concerned about that?” asked Lapis.

“I don’t know, maybe!” said Bismuth. “We don’t even know what she was like before!”

A white outline formed around the pink gem. However, unlike before, the gem itself was rightside-up, looking like just a regular heart. Her physical form returned...and she looked far different than she did before. Rather than looking like a demented jester, now she looked like, well, a regular jester. And she was much smaller than before, even more so than Steven. Who, as luck should have it, was the first being she set her eyes on.

Just as her feet hit the floor, Spinel bounded over to Steven, nearly bowling him over. “Well, hiya, friend!” she said, in a voice clean of any and all malice. “Nice to meetcha!”

“Um…” said Steven, unsure of how to react to this. “Do you...know who I am?”

“Sure I do, silly! You’re my new best friend!” Spinel threw her arms around Steven, each one stretching to wrap around him three times over. “We’re gonna have so much fun together, right?”

“Y-yep, sure are!” said Steven, awkwardly returning Spinel’s hug. “Why did I say that?” he added under his breath.

Greg, too, was unsure of how to take this. “So, she’s friendly now, then?”

“For now, at least,” said Peridot. “Hopefully she stays like this for a while. That would be one less thing to worry about.”

Steven walked closer, Spinel still clinging to him. “Okay, let’s look at the factors: the Gems got their memories wiped, Spinel’s apparently my new best friend, we’re stuck in Despondos, and Emerald gave us only a few days before she blows up the planet. We can handle this, right? Right, guys?”

“Nothing we haven’t dealt with before,” Lapis said. “...Wait, what the heck is a ‘Despondos?’”

“You remember, right?” said Steven. “Etheria? She-Ra? The Horde?”

“Of course I remember,” said Peridot. “You mean to tell me that Emerald somehow trapped us in an alternate dimension?”

“Yes, exactly,” said Steven bluntly. “That’s why there aren’t any stars. She used something called Project: Drawbridge.”

“Project: Drawbridge?” repeated Peridot. She had definitely heard of that before.

Meanwhile, Lapis had headed back outside to check on the lack of stars. She had been so focused on helping Steven that she hadn’t thought about looking at the night sky on her way over. Bismuth, Peridot, Steven, and Greg followed. Spinel tagged along as well. Sure enough, there were no celestial bodies in the sky, save for one.”

“So we really are trapped,” Bismuth said breathlessly. “How exactly do you teleport an entire  _ planet _ like this!?”

“It already happened once,” Steven reasoned. “Etheria had to end up here somehow.”

“And that star up there, that’s…?” Despite asking, Greg was fairly certain he already knew the answer.

“I mean, what else could it be?” said Lapis.

Steven, meanwhile, had just been struck with an idea. Currently, Emerald had them outclassed: she had an army, while their best fighters were out of commission. They needed outside help. “I know what we can do,” he said.

“Er, and what’s that?” said Greg, already worrying for his son’s safety.

“We can’t fight Emerald on our own, she has too many allies,” he explained. “And I don’t think talking will work. The only way we’ll be able to fight her is if we get some allies of our own. Like the Princess Alliance.”

“Are you suggesting flying all the way to Etheria?” asked Lapis. “Steven, no offense but that’s...ludicrous! We don’t have a ship, and even if we did, we’d never be able to fly past Emerald’s blockade.  _ I _ certainly couldn’t do it!”

“We may not have a ship, but I know someone who does.” Steven ran down the stairs, hurrying down the sand towards the town.

“Hey, best friend! Wait for me!” Spinel hobbled after him.

“Steven, wait!” called Peridot. “Did you not hear the part about Emerald’s blockade!?”

“Don’t worry, I have a plan!” Steven called back, before continuing his run. “Emerald wants Lars so bad? Then she’ll get Lars!”


	6. Rightful Heir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak, with help from his new 'allies,' aims to retake his place as leader of the Horde.

Chapter Six: Rightful Heir

_ _ _

During Lord Catra’s time as ruler of the Horde, her forces had started sending more and more scouting parties into the Crimson Waste. According to Catra herself, her interests were in securing the vast desert simply to acquire more territory for the Horde. In reality, however, she was searching for something. Or rather, someone.

Although she had more or less secured loyalty from the rest of the Horde, she knew that Hordak would not approve of her usurping him. And as long as he was out there somewhere, she knew he would try and retake his old position by any means necessary. She had to find him before he found her.

The normally still desert sands were being kicked up by a convoy of Horde skiffs, racing to deliver supplies to the newest outpost. There were dozens of hazards present in the Crimson Waste, so failure to deliver these supplies would mean that the Horde would have to pull out from their new base. Which is exactly what a certain band of raiders wanted.

From up atop a nearby cliff, a small team of Crimson Wasters watched the convoy roll through their territory. The imposing figure that was their leader glared through a pair of binoculars at the invaders. “By my count, there’re nine craft,” said Huntara. “Four carrying supplies, five escorts. Five hundred meters from the trap, and closing.”

“Only five escorts? Catra’s becoming complacent,” the voice of Hordak responded from the other side of a communicator. “Get ready to spring the trap.”

“On my mark.” Huntara looked to the horned woman to her right. The woman gripped tight to the detonator in her hand, her thumb hovering over the button.

Huntara turned her attention towards a cactus that lay just a few meters down the convoy’s path. A large gash had been cut into the plant’s side, a completely unassuming detail to onlookers, especially ones who would rush by it as fast as the skiffs would. But to Huntara, who had carved it herself, it was an indicator of where the trap had been planted. Not directly underneath the cactus itself, but several meters ahead of it, to give the skiffs some time to reach the explosives once they reached it.

The skiffs could faintly be heard speeding across the sands. “Come on, you Horde lackeys, come on…” She held her binoculars tightly, waiting to give the signal. Even slightly early, or slightly late, they would lose their chance. She threw her arm into the air the moment one of the vehicles passed by the cactus. “Now!”

Her ally pressed the button on the detonator. Directly underneath the convoy, barrels loaded with explosives were hurled upwards from their hiding spots underneath the sand. The barrels detonated in midair, showering the skiffs not only with fire, but fragments of magnetic rock found in the Crimson Waste. The skiffs that escaped damage from the initial explosions would still have their navigation systems scrambled by these rocks, making them easy prey.

However, it seemed either Huntara was a split second too late on her call, or her partner was too late on pressing the detonator. The barrels rose in the middle of the convoy, rather than ahead of it, like was planned. A few hit the underside of the skiffs, being knocked aside or back down before they could explode, and dealing minimal damage. A few failed to explode at all. Most of the skiffs were able to outrun the trap, but a few were caught in the explosions. Minimal damage to most, while one was critically damaged, but still ran. Only two were destroyed, one cargo and one escort. The escort craft spun out of control before crashing on its side, while the cargo skiff fell directly down, skidding to a halt.

Huntara pounded the stone beneath her before radioing to Hordak. “No good. We managed to hit a few, but most of the skiffs avoided the trap. And now they know we’re coming.”

“Unfortunate, but not crippling,” Hordak replied. “We can salvage this yet. Take what you can from the wrecked craft, and leave the rest to the assault squadron.”

“Affirmative,” Huntara responded. As much as she hated taking orders from Hordak, she had largely gotten used to it, learning how to hide the venom in her voice, if not the scowl on her face. “Let’s get down there and take everything still usable,” she said to her two companions. She, the horned woman, and a four-armed lizard woman descended the cliff towards the pair of crashed skiffs.

Hordak switched frequencies on his communicator, sending orders to another party. “Assault squadron, prepare to move in.”

The convoy, now numbering seven skiffs, was on high alert. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this was a coordinated attack, an ambush. And because the initial trap hadn’t taken them all out, a second wave was sure to follow.

And follow it did. As the convoy sped through a canyon, several modified skiffs, hidden on the other side of the mountain, gave chase. These appeared to be stolen and scavenged Horde vehicles, rebuilt with whatever parts the desert raiders could get their hands on. Many of them had a sigil painted onto the wing; a snake with its tongue in its mouth, forming a ring.

Despite their seemingly shoddy repairs, the raiders’ skiffs were able to match speed with the convoy. The Horde skiffs closed up their formation, aiming their weapons at the pirates. They opened fire on the raiders, who were forced to take evasive maneuvers.

Among the raiders, one figure stood above all the others. Literally: he clung to the side of a wing, caring not about the intense speed nor the incoming fire. A snake man with bright red scales, and a whip at his side. “Fire the harpoons!” he shouted.

Two skiffs near the front launched a pair of harpoons at one of the Horde skiffs. The harpoons speared through the metal, causing the cables to go slack as both skiffs slowed down. The one harpooned was pulled away from the convoy, as a third raider skif caught up with it. Raiders began boarding, led by the reptilian with a whip.

Horde troopers drew their stun batons. The raiders, most of whom were likewise reptilian, didn’t have weapons nearly as sophisticated, but made up for that in sheer numbers. Although a few were incapacitated, the raiders were ultimately able to overwhelm the troops. Only one remained, who charged at their leader. His hand went to his whip, snapping it so the tip wrapped around the Horde trooper’s wrist. With another flick, he slammed the troop into the skiff’s mast, knocking him out cold.

“Get this thing free,” the red snake man said. “This is my ship now.”

His lackeys returned to their own skiffs, but not before prying the harpoons free from the hull. All four spread apart, followed by the rest of their squadron, with the intent of surrounding the convoy.

The Horde skiffs continued firing. A raider skiff took a hit directly to the chassis, melting through the hull and straight into the engine. The already-bare-bones skiff fell apart as it flew, before grinding to a halt among the sands, disappearing into the distance as both parties continued to rush forwards.

Now aboard a skiff with proper weaponry, the raider’s leader fired back. The craft’s main cannons pounded against the back of the proceeding escort skiff. Although its pilots tried to avoid his fire, their craft soon gave out, veering off to the side as the others kept on.

“Only two gunners left,” the leader said. “You know what to do.”

Several raider skiffs began to advance. The three cargo ships sped up as their escorts pulled back to deal with the hostiles. The raiders once again tried the harpoon strategy, but the troopers were wise to it. One craft’s crew was able to cut it free before it could be stopped, while the other fired on its attackers. This, however, wasn’t an ideal strategy. Although one of the raider skiffs was destroyed before it could attach to its target, the other had already fired its harpoon. The damaged craft fell to the ground, being dragged along by the Horde skiff. Try as it might, the vehicle was weighed down by the hanger-on, and it, too, fell behind.

“Stop the cargo skiffs, I’ll deal with this one!” the leader said. His subordinate nodded as they sped ahead, and he himself pulled towards the last remaining escort ship. Too focused on protecting its cargo, the craft didn’t notice his approach.

Taking aim, the red snakeman opened fire, handily disabling the skiff. The Horde vehicle spun out of control, trying futilely to get one last hit in on the raiders before it came to a rest atop a dune.

Smirking at his accomplishment, the head raider threw a fist upwards. “Yes! Let this be a lesson to all who would dare oppose the rightful ruler of the Crimson Waste, T--”

Something rocked his skiff before he could finish. He looked back to see that the last attack skiff had broken free of its dead weight, and had returned to finish its job. The wreckage of several raider skiffs dotted the sands behind it, and it was now set on making him its next victim.

Although he tried to swerve, the escort’s marksmanship was superb. Knowing he was about to crash, the head raider waved one of his lackeys over. Another skiff pulled up next to his own as the Horde craft prepared to finish the job.

He flung his whip towards the ship’s mast, wrapping it around the top. Making sure his skiff was directly in front of the enemy one, he stopped it in its tracks. As his skiff pulled to a halt, he pulled himself aboard the raider skiff using his whip. His commandeered vehicle was slammed into by the Horde skiff, destroying the both of them. His self-satisfied grin returning, the head raider motioned to regroup with the others.

Without any escort craft to protect them, the cargo skiffs had been easily taken. Not only would these supplies be put to good use by Hordak’s new team, but any supplies that didn’t make it to the Horde base meant a victory by default. Satisfied with their haul, the lead raider radioed his new boss. “Tung Lashor here. We’ve hit the jackpot here!”

“Excellent work, Force Captain Lashor,” replied Hordak. “Rendezvous with Force Captain Huntara and return to base.”

Meanwhile, Huntara and crew had easily handled their own skiffs. They were surrounded by unconscious Horde troopers, some paralyzed by poison darts, some dealt with personally by Huntara. The three of them had unloaded the cargo skiff, and weren’t waiting for long when they saw Lashor’s convoy approaching in the distance.

_ _ _

In the many months Hordak had resided in the Crimson Waste, he had personally managed to recruit just about every raider he had come across. Not only was he rather persuasive, but his exoskeleton made him possibly the most formidable fighter in the entire desert. And in the Crimson Waste, the strong took what they wanted.

His new base of operations was an ancient First Ones ship, which seemed to have crashed into the desert long ago. As his knowledge of First Ones tech paled in comparison to Entrapta’s, he was unable to restore any of the ship’s systems, though it made for a passable base in his current situation.

He was interrupted from repairing his suit when Huntara and Tung Lashor entered his new sanctum. “Welcome, Force Captains,” he said. “Today’s excursion was a complete success. I must commend you both.”

“No commendations needed!” said Tung. “I’m just glad to be a part of something greater.”

Huntara huffed at this comment. “Right, we have some supplies. Now what?” she asked.

“Now we wait,” Hordak said. “Catra will slip up again sooner or later, and when she does, we will be ready.”

“So that’s it, then?” Huntara said. “We lay low and wait until the Horde makes a mistake, and  _ then _ we attack?”

“Precisely,” answered Hordak. “Now, unless either of you have any questions, I would like to return to my work.”

Tung Lashor headed out, with Huntara reluctantly following him. She sent a suspicious glance at Hordak as she left, only noticing that Imp was staring at her when he swooped down from his perch in the rafters. Once they were both gone, he landed next to Hordak. “Entrapta, Entrapta,” he said in his master’s voice.

“Quiet, you,” growled Hordak. Nevertheless, he had to stifle a sigh. But there would be time for that later. Now, he had to focus on retaking what was rightfully his.

_ _ _

A light knock at Catra’s, formerly Hordak’s, sanctum door. Without waiting for her to answer, Scorpia let herself in. “Heyyyy, Lord Catra,” she said, in a slightly nervous tone that suggested that she had some unpleasant news.

Reluctantly, the Horde’s current leader turned away from her conversation with Entrapta. “What is it, Scorpia?” she asked, expecting the worst.

“So, you know those convoys we send out into the Crimson Waste sometimes? Well, I just got word that the most recent one has been…”

“Has been  _ what _ ?” asked Catra.

“...destroyed, it’s been destroyed,” Scorpia said. “Just like the last one. And we don’t know by who. But, uh, the outpost never received their supplies.”

Catra only groaned, massaging her forehead. “Good to know,” she said. “Send out another one, more guards this time.”

“You got it, I’ll be right on that!” Scorpia said. “So, is there anything else you need from me? Any more orders, or…”

“Not right now,” Catra replied. “I’m busy with Entrapta right now.”

“Oh, okay,” said Scorpia. “Well, if you need anything, you know where to find me!” She departed, leaving the two alone once more.

“Another convoy lost,” said Entrapta. “Either those Crimson Wasters are more organized than we thought, or someone’s making them attack us.”

Catra had often thought the same thing Entrapta had. She, however, kept it to herself, knowing how Entrapta would react. “I doubt it,” she said. “If Hordak had been sent to the Crimson Waste, he would have returned to the Fright Zone by now.”

“Mmm...I suppose that’s true,” she said. “But if he’s not in the Crimson Waste...where could he be?”

“I don’t know,” Catra replied. “But we’ll find him sooner or later. All we have to do is keep looking.” This wasn’t a lie, as Catra really intended to find Hordak. Her reasons for doing so, however, were far different than Entrapta’s.

The two of them were reviewing footage Entrapta had taken of the mysterious celestial object that had recently appeared. Now with the benefit of high-powered magnification, it seemed to be a planet of some kind. Neither of them knew what this meant, but it seemed to be surrounded by numerous smaller objects. They were too small to make out at this distance, but they were too intelligently placed to be natural.

“Wait...we have movement!” Entrapta suddenly exclaimed.

“What? Where?” asked Catra.

Entrapta centered the footage as best she could on the object. A tiny shape was moving away from the planet.

“What is it?” asked Catra.

“I can’t tell yet,” Entrapta said. “But whatever it is, it’s headed right towards Etheria…”


	7. Planet-Hopping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven accompanies Lars and crew as they travel to Etheria, seeking help in stopping Emerald's plan.

Chapter Seven: Planet-Hopping

_ _ _

“Yeesh. I know I say this a lot, but Emmy’s really lost it this time!” said Lars. He shut off the T.V., having just seen Emerald’s broadcast for the third time in a row. He still couldn’t believe that she was still upset about this whole ship thing, even after all this time. “So, uh...what happened to you?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” said Steven. Behind him, Spinel was busy rummaging through Lars’ things. Peridot and Rhodonite tried to rein her in, to no avail. Bismuth stood nearby, cradling the still-inert Crystal Gems. “That’s Spinel. She’s my new best friend.”

“Uh-huh,” Lars said, still not entirely sure what was going on. “Where’d she come from? And what happened to the Gems?”

“ _ This _ happened,” said Lapis, stepping forwards. She produced the rejuvenator, extending the weapon into its scythe form.

“Watch where you’re pointin’ that thing!” said Bismuth, shying away from the blade. Rhodonite, too, pulled away. Curious, Spinel reached out to poke the tip of the blade, only for Peridot to push her arm down.

“Long story short, she--” indicating Spinel, “--and they--” indicating the Gems, “--got mind-wiped. When they come back, they won’t remember who they are, just like she can’t remember she used to work for Emerald.”

“Wait, she was with Emerald?” said Lars. “Then we can ask her what her plan is!” He stood up, making his way over to Spinel. He leaned down, talking to her like one would a young child. “Spinel? Do you know what Emerald wants to do to Earth?”

“Ummmmm...nope!” said Spinel. “I don’t know any Emeralds. I’m Steven’s best friend, and that’s good enough for me!” She hugged him to emphasize her point.

“Yep. Mind-wiped,” said Peridot. “But there’s still a chance! We might be able to restore not just Spinel’s memories, but those of the other Crystal Gems as well!”

“And it’s not like we don’t already know what Emerald wants,” said Steven, trying to squirm his way out of Spinel’s grip. “She’s here for you, Lars. You and your ship. And she’s gonna blow everything up if she doesn’t get it.”

“That seems a bit...excessive,” said Rhodonite. “What exactly are we supposed to do?”

“That’s why I came here,” said Steven. “I think I know what we can do.” He walked over to a nearby window, gesturing for Lars to join him. After a few moments of searching, he found the star-that-wasn’t-a-star in the sky. “Up there. That’s where we need to go.”

“To a star?” said Lars.

“That’s no star,” Steven said. “I don’t know how yet, but apparently, Emerald trapped the Earth in some kind of alternate dimension. But it’s one we’ve been to before. That ‘star’ up there? That’s Etheria.”

“Etheria…” said Lars, memories coming flooding back. “You mean, with She-Ra? The princesses?  _ Catra _ ?”

“Yup, that one,” Bismuth said.

“And I think two of those three will be able to help us fight back against Emerald,” said Steven. “Maybe all three. We don’t know what’s happened there in two years.”

“Alright, I think I get what you’re saying,” said Lars, nodding. “Emerald’s got herself a shiny new army, so we need one of our own. But how do we get from here to there without Emmy noticing?”

“Actually…” Steven said, “I was kind of hoping she  _ would _ notice. We could lead her away from Earth. Buy them some time, you know.”

“Hmm. Sounds risky,” said Lars. “I like it!”

“Y-you do?” asked Rhodonite.

“Sure do!” Lars replied. “Alright, team: warm up those nova thrusters, we’re goin’--”

Lars’ speech was suddenly halted when Bismuth’s arms started glowing. “Oh, she’s comin’ back!” she exclaimed. Everyone gathered around, though they kept their distance to give the returning Gem some room. Spinel clung to Steven.

Amethyst’s gemstone rose into the air. Light warped around the gem, forming the familiar shape of her short frame and wild hair. The form flickered, before settling one one wildly different. As color returned to the small Quartz, it became apparent that while this was definitely Amethyst, it also  _ wasn’t _ Amethyst. Her once long hair was incredibly short, and her body was oddly segmented, almost like a mannequin.

It was Steven who approached her first, cautiously. “Uh, Amethyst? Are you okay?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Amethyst, are you okay?” she repeated.

“Yeah! Are you?”

“Yeah! Are you?”

“I am, thanks for asking!”

“I am, thanks for asking!”

“This is certainly...interesting,” Peridot said. “She seems to have reverted back to her mindset from when she first emerged.”

“So, this is what she was like before she met everyone?” said Steven.

“What you’re looking at here is pre-Crystal Gem Amethyst,” Peridot said. Spinel had walked over to examine the newly-formed Gem. Amethyst shapeshifted to resemble Spinel, who then looked like a kid playing around with a funhouse mirror.

“Should we...take her with us?” asked Rhodonite. “It seems like it’d be dangerous for a newly-formed Gem like her.”

“I wouldn’t worry about her,” said Steven. “Amethyst’s always been scrappy! Right now, she’s just a little…” Amethyst was still copying Spinel’s movements. “...loopy, that’s all!”

“If you say so,” Lars said. “Alright, let’s get ready for takeoff!”

_ _ _

Steven was pacing back and forth in front of Lars’ house, waiting for him and his team to get ready. Amethyst was pacing back and forth beside him. Spinel sat on the curb nearby, watching intently.

Finally, the one Steven had been waiting for arrived; a portal materialized down the street, and through it came the familiar form of Lion, ridden by Connie. The young woman and her mount came to a stop beside the three of them.

“Steven!” Connie called, hopping off of Lion’s back and up to her friend. “I came as soon as I could--where are they? Is everyone alright?”

“Um…’alright’ is relative,” answered Steven. “None of the Gems are hurt, but the rejuvenator...well, you can see what it did to Amethyst.”

Connie looked into Amethyst’s eyes; the Gem looked back. There was no trace of any kind of personality in them. She was a blank slate, taking in everything around her. “So, this is who she was before?” Connie said.

“So this is who she was before?”

“I should probably mention, she’s been doing that for the last ten minutes,” Steven said. “But yeah, this is what she was like before she met mom, and Pearl, and Garnet. Speaking of, the two of them haven't reformed yet. Three, actually, considering Ruby and Sapphire.”

“Hey, Steven! Who’s your friend?” Spinel, curious to know about what the two were talking about, had come over.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” said Steven. “Spinel, this is Connie. Connie, Spinel. She’s sorta the one who, y’know...made the Gems the way they are now. And then I sorta made her this way now, it’s a whole thing.”

Connie held out her hand, which Spinel took and shook enthusiastically. “She sure is a friendly one,” Connie said. “Why do you think she wanted to help Emerald?”

“Beats me,” Steven said. “But Emerald seems to be getting by just fine without her. Which is exactly why we need to go to Etheria for help.”

“About that…” Connie said. But before she could continue, a thought suddenly struck her. “Wait, about that rejuvenator...Steven, did you get hit by it, too?”

“Yeah, a few times, actually,” Steven said. “It doesn’t look like it affected me, though. Just like the destabilizers. Perks of being part human, I guess.”

“Alright, everything looks about ready to ship out!” Bismuth stepped out of the house, remaining unformed gems in hand. “They’re ready to take off when you are.”

“Great. The sooner we can get Emerald’s attention away from Earth, the better,” said Steven. He turned to Connie: “Did you want to come too?”

“That’s actually what I wanted to mention,” she said. “I think it would actually be safer if I stayed here. Not for me, of course, but what if Emerald starts attacking when she realizes you all are gone? I’d...I’d like to stay behind, so I can help protect Beach City. And my family. Y’know, just in case.”

“Oh, uh, that’s fine!” said Steven. “It’s always good to have a backup plan, right? Peridot and Lapis and Bismuth were staying behind, too, so you can watch each-other’s backs. You’re the New Crystal Gems!”

“New Crystal Gems, alright!” said Bismuth. “I imagine we’ll be looking after these two, too?”

Spinel and Amethyst were both sitting nearby, listening intently to the conversation despite understanding little of it. “I was actually gonna take Amethyst with me,” said Steven. “Maybe someone on Etheria can help get her memory back.”

“Hmm, good point,” said Bismuth. “In that case, you’d better take these ones with ya, too.” She handed Steven the gemstones of Pearl, Ruby, and Sapphire. “You take care o’ them, you hear?”

“Of course!” said Steven, preparing to head inside. Spinel, however, had other plans, following behind him. “Spinel...I’m gonna need you to stay here with Connie and the others, okay?”

“W-what?” said Spinel, looking betrayed. “But...I want to stay with you!” She reached out to grab Steven’s free hand, holding it between her own.

“I know, it’s just that...it could be dangerous, and we don’t want you to get hurt,” said Steven.

“Yeah, just hang out here for a bit!” said Bismuth. “We’ll show you around Little Homeworld! Maybe if you want, you can stay once this is all over?”

Spinel was undeterred. “You’re letting  _ Amethyst _ come with you!” she said.

“That’s because Amethyst is used to danger,” Steven said. He tried to free himself from Spinel’s grasp, but she was surprisingly strong. “Spinel, it’s for your own good!”

“No it isn’t!” Her grip on his hand was becoming painful now. “You just want to leave me here so you don’t have to see me ever again! But I won’t let you!”

Steven actually cried out in pain from Spinel squeezing his hand; this was enough to get her to let go. After the brief silence that followed, Spinel hurried inside the house towards the  _ Sun Incinerator _ . Steven examined his hand for a moment; it didn’t look like it was hurt too badly.

“Well...guess she’s comin’ along with ya,” Bismuth said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Steven, sounding slightly annoyed. “We’ll send someone back through Lion once we get there.”

Steven stepped inside the house, passing by Peridot as she stepped out. “What was that about?” she asked. “ I’ve never seen Steven look so...un-Steven-like.”

“It’s nothing to worry about,” said Connie. “So where is this ship, anyway?”

“In there,” Peridot said, gesturing to the garage.

“...You mean Lars somehow managed to fit an entire spaceship in his garage?” asked Connie.

“I was wondering the same thing,” Peridot said. “Beats me how he did it. I just hope he can get it out of there without breaking it.”

_ _ _

Fortunately, Lars was indeed able to maneuver the  _ Sun Incinerator _ out of his garage, dealing only minimal damage to both the ship and his house. While Bismuth, Peridot, Lapis, and Connie stayed on Earth, Lars and Steven, Rhodonite, the Rutiles, Padparadscha, Fluorite, Spinel, and Amethyst, not to mention the currently unformed Gems, tucked away in Steven’s jacket pockets, rose into the sky towards the absent stars.

They knew long before they could see it that Emerald’s flagship hovered just above Beach City. Likewise, it was obvious that she knew they were coming. The occasional blip on the radar indicated they were being trailed, probably by her other ships.

As the air thinned, the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ came into view. “Iiincooommiiing traaansmiiisiooon,” said Fluorite.

“Patch it through,” Lars said. Emerald’s grinning visage appeared on the ship’s monitor.

“Captain Lars!” said Emerald, her voice oozing with smugness. “It’s so nice to see you after all this time. And you brought me a gift, how thoughtful!”

“Not in the mood for witty banter right now, Emmy,” said Lars, doing his best to sound defeated. “We are on a deadline, after all. Just accept this token of our surrender, and leave Earth alone.”

“Of course, of course! Once the  _ Sun Incinerator _ is in my hands once again, I will leave good enough alone, you have my word.  _ Pleasure _ doing business with you, old friend.”

As the transmission ended, bay doors opened on the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ ’s underside. A pair of other Gem warships hung just to their port and starboard, as though daring them to try any funny business.

“Such a shame Emerald managed to get the best of us,” Lars said, his tone exaggerated. “If only there had been something we could have--”

“Uh, Captain? She can’t hear us anymore,” said the Rutile twins. Lars slumped down in his seat. The vessel slowly crept forwards, heading towards the docking bay.

“I would express caution,” said Padparadscha. “Emerald has all of her guns trained on us. She does not want us to escape.”

“Luckily for us, she wouldn’t dare fire on her prized ship!” Lars said. “Get ready to punch it, on my mark!”

The  _ Sun Incinerator _ was only three of its own length from the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ . The crews of both starships were silent in anticipation. Emerald, while silent as well, was beside herself with excitement. Surely nothing could keep her beloved vessel from her now?

“Now!”

The ship’s nova thrusters roared to life. Slipping just under the larger vessel, Lars and company shot off into the distance right out from under Emerald’s proverbial grip. None of the three warships had time to react.

“NO!” cried Emerald. “Follow that ship! Don’t let them get away again!”

The  _ Destiny Destroyer _ turned around and sped off after the  _ Sun Incinerator _ , which had quite the head start. Despite this, the larger ship thundered after it, while the other two returned to their posts.

“It’s working!” said left-Rutile. “She’s following us--and alone, at that!” added right-Rutile.

“Just as planned!” said Lars. “Now all we need to do it--”

The ship was suddenly rocked by a violent impact. It seemed that Emerald was firing on them. “Yooouuu weeere saaaaayiiing?” said Fluorite.

“Evasive maneuvers!” yelled Lars. The  _ Sun Incinerator _ swerved and twirled to evade the incoming blasts. “I don’t understand, I thought she wanted to keep this ship in one piece!”

“She seems to be aiming for our engines,” said Padparadscha. “I predict she will try to disable us.”

“Just what we needed!” exclaimed Rhodonite.

Meanwhile, Spinel was clinging to the back of Rhodonite’s chair, treating their evasive maneuvers like an amusement park ride. Amethyst simply watched from the side, unbothered by the sudden movements.

“What are we supposed to do now?” asked Steven.

“I have an idea,” Lars said. “Keep this up, I’ll take care of this!” With that, he got up from his seat, and made his way out of the bridge.

“Lars? Captain, where are you going?” asked Rutile.

“Heeeee’s goooing tooo heeelp!” said Fluorite.

Sure enough, a small object darted out of the  _ Sun Incinerator _ moments later. Lars’ voice appeared on the radio; “Time to take matters into my own hands!”

Piloting the Star Skipper, Lars rushed back towards Emerald’s warship. Dodging the blasts aimed at the pirated vessel, he opened fire on the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ ’s cannons as soon as they came into range. The beams simply ricocheted off the cannons, doing no damage.

“No effect! That worked last time!” he said.

A third party joined the radio conversation, snickering madly. “Unluckily for you, this isn’t  _ like _ last time!” said Emerald. “I’ve upgraded my warship to be leagues above your pitiful craft! You and your band of pirates don’t stand a chance!”

“If the ship is so pitiful, then why do you want it back to bad?” asked Lars.

“Sentimental value!” Emerald unleashed a salvo of missiles, locked on to the Star Skipper. The fighter flew all around the two ships, trying to shake them off.

The tiny dot of light in the distance was growing brighter, and smaller dots were now visible around it. Etheria was growing closer.

“Lars! Just hold on a little bit longer, we’re almost--” Steven was interrupted by a glowing light coming from inside his jacket. “No, not now!” He quickly removed both Ruby and Sapphire from his pockets, and the pair took form.

They looked almost identical to how they looked before. Sapphire still had her serene grace, and Ruby still had her gruff edge. “What the!? Where are we?” snapped Ruby.

“We seem to have found ourselves aboard a stolen vessel,” said Sapphire calmly. “A traitor to Homeworld is also attempting to shoot us down.”

“Not on my watch!” said Ruby. “Hey! This thing have any escape pods?”

“Not last I checked,” Rhodonite said.

“Ruby, Sapphire, glad to see you’re alright,” said Steven. “Now this is gonna sound a bit weird, but--”

“Who’re you?” asked Ruby. “You don’t look like any Gem I’ve ever seen. You a new type or something?”

“Er, I’ll explain later,” said Steven. “So, you don’t remember anything? Rose Quartz, the Earth, Garnet, anything?”

“The only thing I know is that I’ve gotta keep My Sapphire safe,” Ruby said. “And this ship isn’t safe at all!”

“Veer left,” said Sapphire.

They did so, narrowly avoiding being blasted by Emerald’s ship.

“Veer--nevermind,” said Padparadscha.

Etheria was quickly approaching. By this point, the surface could be seen, as well as the clouds in the atmosphere. But if Emerald got to them first, it wouldn’t matter how close they were.

“Guys, this isn’t working!” said Lars. “Nothing I do can scratch her ship, it’s too heavily armored!”

Ruby approached the control console. “This thing have any weapons?” she asked.

“I-I think so,” Rhodonite said. “We haven’t really used them before, but--”

“Well, now’s a great time to start! Open fire!”

“B-but Captain Lars said--”

“Your captain’s about to be blown to space dust!” said Ruby. “You gotta do what you can to complete the mission, understand?”

“Y-yes ma’am!” said Rhodonite. She and Rutile immediately turned the ship around.

Emerald glared at the screen before her. Lars was in her sights. There was no escaping this time. “Farewell, dear friend,” she said. “I would say it has been an honor--but it hasn’t…”

Moments before Emerald could press the button to fire, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ launched a barrage of its own. A flurry of laser beams was hurled from previously-unseen guns, tearing through the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ ’s shields. Alarms began to go off within the warship. “My Emerald, our hull’s been breached!” exclaimed a Peridot. “Fuel cells eight through fourteen have ruptured--we can’t control our course!”

“We don’t need to! Stay on them!” yelled Emerald, either ignoring the sorry state her vessel was in, or too gung-ho to care. “Don’t let them escape, under any circumstances!”

“It might be too late for that, My Emerald!” a Nephrite said.

Both ships were now entering Etheria’s atmosphere. The  _ Sun Incinerator _ , with the Star Skipper by its side, cruised down towards the surface, while the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ tried futilely to follow them. The warship’s engines gave out. Its hull burned from the friction, and the guns were torn clear of their places.

Sirens continued to blare. “My Emerald, we’re losing all control!” said a Peridot. “Our engines have completely failed! It--it’s over.”

The  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , damaged beyond all repair, streaked towards the ground below like a meteor. From the last intact corner of the viewscreen, Emerald glared at the retreating form of the  _ Sun Incinerator _ . “Crash positions,” she muttered, retreating to the armored safe room of her ship. Several Gems followed her, while others still tried their best to salvage what they could of the failing vessel.

Steven watched as Emerald’s ship fell to the earth behind them, fading into the distance as they pressed forward to the horizon. “Why do I get the feeling this won’t be the last we see of her?” he asked.

“Emmy’s tough like that,” said Lars. “She’ll bounce back from this, just you wait. But that just makes it more important than ever that we get the princesses’ help. You all remember the way to Brightmoon?”

“Leeeead the waaay, Caaaaptaaain!” said Fluorite.

The Star Skipper sped off into the distance, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ following close behind.


	8. Planetfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After meeting up again, our heroes form an alliance. So do our villains.

Chapter Eight: Planetfall

_ _ _

The dead of night on Etheria: everyone in Brightmoon was fast asleep. It would not stay that way, however, as a tremendous boom echoed across the landscape, waking all who heard it. Adora’s warrior training shifted into high gear, as she leapt out of bed clutching a dagger. She looked around for the source of the noise, but saw nothing out the window. For a moment, she wondered if she had imagined the sound, but upon hearing the commotion from the halls, she knew she hadn’t. She followed the source of the murmurs to see what was going on.

“Bow?” asked Adora, running into him upon stepping out of her room. “You all heard that too, right? It wasn’t just me?”

“We heard it alright,” said Bow. Many of the castle’s residents had filed out into the halls, and were converging on the main hall to see what was happening. He looked ahead, wondering. “What  _ was _ that?”

“At this point, I think it’s safe to assume it had something to do with the Horde,” Adora answered. “They  _ have _ been really interested in that Prime tech lately. You don’t think they got their hands on one of those giant robots, do you?”

Bow looked concerned. “I hope not. But, like you said, it’s safe to assume…”

Through the shuffling crowd, Adora managed to catch a sudden glimpse of Glimmer standing on a balcony overlooking the landscape. Wondering what she was doing out there, she went over to her, Bow following after.

Outside, Glimmer was scanning the horizon with a pair of binoculars. “Glimmer?” said Adora. “What’s up? You see anything?”

“Nothing yet,” answered Glimmer, still staring out into the distance. “But whatever made that noise came from this direction, and it can’t be far away!”

“Are...are those my binoculars?” asked Bow. “Where did you get those?”

“Borrowed ‘em.”

“That...doesn’t answer my--”

“You think it could be the Horde?” said Adora. It was mostly a rhetorical question, but nobody knew for sure yet.

“That was my first thought,” said Glimmer. “We know they’re back in business again, so we can’t count anything out. Especially now that Catra’s calling the shots.”

“I still can’t believe Catra managed to take over the whole Horde,” said Bow.

“Me neither,” said Adora. “Well, kind of. It was surprising, but having known her my whole life, it makes a lotta sense.”

“Hold on, I see something!” Glimmer shouted. Adora and Bow looked where she was, but saw nothing. “I can’t tell what it is, but it’s getting closer!”

“What is it? What is it!?” said Bow, growing frantic.

“Here, look!” Glimmer held up the binoculars; Adora and Bow both went to look at the same time, each ending up looking through only one eye. After a moment of searching, they finally found what Glimmer had seen. Some sort of ship, green in color, was flying towards Brightmoon.

“What the…?” Adora said. “Is that Horde tech?”

“I can’t tell from this distance,” Bow said. “It sort of looks like it, though.”

Glimmer took back the binoculars to look again. “We need to warn everyone,” she said. “Horde or not, that thing’s headed this way, and with that boom, it can’t be good!” She teleported back inside, leaving the binoculars behind. With a worried yelp, Bow caught them before they hit the ground.

“Hang on a minute…” Bow took another look at the approaching ship. “I remember that. I know what it is!”

“What? Not Horde?” said Adora.

“It’s… Remember two years ago, with Steven and the Gems, and--”

“Oh!” Adora took hold of the binoculars, looking at the ship as well. “That’s, um, that’s what’s-his-name’s ship, right? The pink guy?”

“I have no idea how they got here from Earth, but that’s definitely the same ship,” Bow said. “I think we can rule out them being the Horde.”

“Well, maybe not yet,” Adora said. “I mean, it could be a trick. Probably not, though.” The two stared awkwardly at one another for a moment. “I’m gonna go grab my sword, just in case.” She left to do just that, while Bow headed for the main hall.

“Mom, I’m telling you, we can’t take any chances!” Glimmer was already in a heated argument with her mother over what to do about the mysterious event. “We can’t just sit here and wait for the Horde to--”

“If we ‘sit here,’ we’ll be better prepared if the Horde does attack,” said Queen Angella. “And since we don’t know for certain it  _ is _ the Horde, there’s no reason to get up in arms at all!”

“Bit if it  _ could _ be the Horde, don’t you think we should at least send someone to investigate?” Glimmer shot back. “What happened to ‘better safe than sorry?’”

“I already have. And once they return, we can--”

“Glimmer! Your majesty, everyone!” said Bow, waving his arms to get their attention. “Uh, sorry for interrupting. But it’s not the Horde!”

Glimmer teleported nearer. “Then who is it?”

“We don’t know exactly, but it’s the same ship from two years ago, the one that belongs to Steven’s friend.”

“That pink guy? How did they get here from Earth?” asked Glimmer. Bow shrugged.

Queen Angella stood up, stepping closer to the both of them. “If that is the case, I see no reason to prepare for battle.” Unnoticed by her, Glimmer groaned. “However, if the last time they were here is any indication, I can’t imagine this is merely a conjugal visit. We shall go and greet them, and hope they come here on better terms…”

When Glimmer and Bow made their way to the field where the ship would likely land, they found that Adora was already there, Sword of Protection hung on her back. A small battalion of guards followed after them as Angella watched from the castle.

“So...Steven’s back?” said Glimmer.

“We think so, but we aren’t sure,” said Adora. “And we still don’t know how they got here…”

“I think I’d be more interested in why they’re here in the first place,” Bow said.

“We’ll get to ask them in a moment,” said Adora, as the ship drew closer.

The  _ Sun Incinerator _ slowed down as it drew closer and closer to the landing point. The Best Friend Squad took a few cautious steps back as it lowered down, coming to a rest atop the grassy field. The doors hissed open to reveal a familiar face: hidden behind age, but there was no doubt that this was the same Steven who had been here all those years ago.

“Hey, it  _ is _ Steven!” Adora said.

“Guys!” Steven’s face lit up upon seeing his old friends. He rushed outside, followed by a face that was less-than-familiar to the Etherians. Ruby headed out as well to secure the perimeter, Amethyst copying her every move.

“It’s been a while, what happened with--Oh, okay, we’re...yeah, we’re hugging now.” Steven had pulled Adora in for a hug, surprising her with both his strength and the suddenness of the gesture. Spinel hugged her as well, wrapping her arms around both of them. Several times. “Yup, okay, this is--yeah.”

“Good to see you again!” said Bow. “Who’s your new friend?” He looked around, seeing Ruby, Sapphire, and the newly-rejuvenated Amethyst. “Come to think of it, who are all of your new friends?”

Spinel finally let go, allowing Steven to let go as well. “It’s kinda hard to explain,” he said. “But basically, this is Spinel, my--”

“--New best friend!” she interjected. “Are you Steven’s friends, too? Because that makes you my friends! But not  _ best _ friends, because that spot’s taken!”

“Aww, she’s adorable!” said Glimmer.

“She didn’t used to be,” said Steven. “Especially since she used to be working with Emerald.”

“Emerald...why do I get the feeling that she’s a bad guy?” said Adora.

“‘Cause she is.” Lars walked over, the other off-colors examining their surroundings. “She’s the reason we’re here in the first place. And not just on Etheria--in Despondos, too.” He pointed up at the lone pinprick of light in the sky.

“So that’s...Earth?” said Bow. “How did she manage to bring it here?”

“To be honest, we aren’t entirely sure yet,” said Steven. “She crashed her ship back there, but she’ll probably be back.”

“That explains the bang,” said Adora. “But what happened to your purple friend? And where’s the skinny one, and the tall one with big hair, and--”

“Like I said, it’s hard to explain,” said Steven. “Do you think we could maybe go back to the castle? It’s been kind of a tough day...”

“Sure!” said Glimmer. “I’m sure Mom would be happy to see you.”

“A lot’s happened here in two years, and I’m sure a lot’s happened back on Earth,” said Bow. “We’d be happy to--”

For a third time, Steven’s pockets began to glow. A smooth oval gemstone rose out of his jacket, coming to a rest in midair. Ruby jumped in front of Sapphire, who didn’t react at all. “Oh boy,” Steven said. “Remember how you were asking where Pearl was?”

Unlike the other gems, Pearl’s appeared to have some sort of holographic shell around it, shaped like a clam. “Administrator identified. Please input your preferred designation.” It sounded like Pearl’s voice, but it was clear that it wasn’t her talking.

“...I’m Adora,” Adora said. The gemstone did seem to be facing towards her, after all. “Is this normal for her? Because I--”

“Identity confirmed: Imadora. Please input customisation options.”

Adora looked back and forth between the others. “Um...Pearl? Is that you? Because this feels a bit...weird.”

“Default appearance set. Congratulations on your new Pearl!”

“Uh, thanks.” Pearl’s physical form finally began to appear. Once her color had been restored, she resembled her appearance before she had become a Crystal Gem, complete with pink skirt. “W-what was that about, exactly?”

Pearl opened her eyes, smiling widely. “Greetings, My Imadora!” She bowed to Adora, who was still confused. “I am your humble Pearl, and I will do whatever is needed of me to serve you!”

“What!?” shouted Bow and Glimmer.

“Oh, no,” said Steven, his face in his hands.

“Uhhhh…” said Adora.

“Well, this just got even weirder,” said Lars.

_ _ _

Several miles away, a long trench had been dug into the ground. Not by hand, but by the impact of a large object: specifically, the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , which had come to a rest by a mountainside. The ship had been completely totaled, and was unlikely to be repaired any time soon.

But while the ship was totaled, its occupants were very much still alive. Pieces of broken metal were pushed aside, and Emerald pulled herself from the wreckage. “LARS! You’ve evaded me for the last time! Next time I get my hands on you, I’ll wipe that smirk off your stupid organic face!” She dusted herself off, taking in her surroundings. “MY SHIP! That’s twice--no,  _ three times _ Lars has taken my ship from me!” She took a moment to compose herself, leaning up against the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ ’s wreckage. “Peridot, status report.”

A Peridot pushed her way from the rubble. “Yes, My Emerald. By my readings, most of the personnel are unharmed, and some of the equipment survived, but due to damage sustained from the crash, the ship has been rendered...er...inoperable.”

Emerald glared at nothing in particular. “Fantastic,” she muttered. “Can we at least communicate with the rest of the fleet?”

“We can most likely put something together, but it may take some time,” the Peridot said.

“Then there’s no reason not to get started,” said Emerald. She banged on the side of the ship. “You hear me in there? Get to work!” She looked out at the horizon, content at having solved all of their problems. “Soon, Lars. Soon…”

“Uh, My Emerald?” said the Peridot, worried. “I’m detecting several energy signatures headed towards us. No telling if they’re hostile or not.”

“Energy signatures?” said Emerald. “What is there on this backwater planet that could possibly produce enough energy to register on--” She trailed off as she saw what was approaching: several Horde skiffs, moving to surround the wreckage. Numerous troopers disembarked, all of them armed. “Oh.  _ Locals _ ,” Emerald said.

The soldiers aimed their stun batons at the Gems. “By order of Lord Catra, don’t move!” one of them shouted.

“Stand back, Peridot, I know how to deal with their type,” Emerald said. She stepped forward, trying to sound as menacing as she could manage. “Hear me, feeble organics! For I am Emerald, the greatest--OW!” Her thought process was interrupted as a stun blast collided with her head.

“I said don’t move!” the same trooper yelled.

“How dare you fire upon me!?” yelled Emerald. “Once my legions pull themselves from the wreckage, I will rain--Ow! Again!?”

“Final warning!” said the trooper.

“You don’t give warnings!  _ I _ give warnings! And I’m warning you--Stop it!”

One of the Horde soldiers turned to another. “You’d think she’d have taken the hint by this point.”

“Prepare to open fire, on my mark!” said the first trooper.

“Hold on.”

At this voice, all of the troopers lowered their weapons. Emerald watched as the sea of green parted to reveal a smaller figure in red and grey.

“And...who are you, exactly?” asked Emerald.

“Who am I? I’m the one in charge here,” said Catra. “And who are  _ you _ ?”

“Me!? I am Emerald, the greatest admiral Homeworld has ever seen! Entire galaxies tremble in fear of my military prowess!”

“Uh…” Catra looked past Emerald at the wrecked ship. “...I’m sure they do. But right now, I’m gonna need you to come with us.”

Emerald was aghast. “What!? Never! The great Emerald is nobody’s prisoner!”

“Uh-huh,” said Catra, unimpressed. “And does ‘the great Emerald’ always crash her ship?”

Wh--j--No!” Emerald stammered. “I’m only here because that infernal Lars of the Stars managed to slip through my grasp once again!”

“Lars?” Memories of being shocked with her own stun baton came flooding back to Catra. “He wouldn’t happen to be pink, would he? Scar over one eye? Stupid cape?”

“Yes! That’s him!” said Emerald. “And he stole that cape, I should add! Just like he stole his ship--it’s  _ my _ ship!” Emerald paused as she realized something. “...Why? Do you know him, too?”

“You could say that.” Catra made her way past Emerald and climbed onto the wrecked ship, perched as if it was a throne. “Well, ‘the great Emerald,’ it seems like we have a common enemy in this ‘Lars of the Stars’ character. How about if, instead of coming with us as a prisoner, you came with us as a guest?”

She considered this for a moment. “And what exactly would I have to gain from working with a lowly organic?”

Catra scoffed. “Like it or not, Emmy, this ‘lowly organic’ is much more equipped than you. She knows the terrain, unlike you. She knows her enemies better than you. But like you, she has a vendetta against Lars and his allies. Like it or not, sweetheart, but I’m your best chance at revenge.”

Emerald growled, furious at being shown up like this. However, as much as she hated to admit it, the snarky feline had several good points. “...Fine,” she said begrudgingly.

“I’m glad to hear it!” Catra said. She hopped down from her perch, throwing an arm around the (much taller) Emerald. “So, shall we head back to the Fright Zone?”

“Very well,” Emerald said. “Get everything you can salvage in working order!” she said to the Peridot, who saluted. “And send everything over to...where was it, again?”

“The Fright Zone,” said Catra, as she and Emerald stepped aboard a skiff. “I think you’ll like it there…”


	9. Allies on Etheria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Steven worries about his recurring dreams, Catra introduces the others to her new friend.

Chapter Nine: Allies on Etheria

_ _ _

“ _ Steven… _ ”

“ _ You must find… _ ”

“ _ The sword… _ ”

“My  _ sword _ …”

“ _ Steven _ !”

Just as he had before, Steven woke up with a jolt. The same dream. That same dream, with that same castle, that same voice, and that same sword. It was obvious that someone, he had no idea who, was trying to tell him something. But what? What was this sword, and where was he supposed to find it? Seeing as it was already daytime, Steven figured there was no point in trying to fall back to sleep. After taking a brief moment to remember where he was (a guest room in Castle Brightmoon), Steven got to his feet and prepared to leave when someone else opened the door.

“Hey, Steven?” It was Spinel. “That’s the matter? I heard you shout, so I figured something was wrong. Nothing’s wrong, is it?”

He shook his head. “No, just another bad dream. Wait...were you waiting out there all night?”

“Of course,” said Spinel, as if it were obvious. “You’re my best friend! I don’t  _ ever _ want to leave you alone!” She threw her stretchy arms around Steven again, pulling him closer to her.

“I...don’t think you have to worry about that,” said Steven. “We might be stuck here for a while because of Emerald. You don’t remember anything about her, do you?”

“Mmmmm...nope,” Spinel said. “All I know is that you’re my--”

“New best friend, I remember,” Steven interjected. “Come on, let’s go see what everyone else is doing.” He walked out the door, heading towards the main hall, with Spinel right on his heels.

Spinel could certainly be a bit overbearing, but that wasn’t why Steven was so apprehensive around her. Rather, it was because of what he had seen before she was rejuvenated. Whoever Spinel had been, she had known his mother, and something between them made her want revenge. Given that she was willing to side with Emerald, he shuddered to imagine what would happen once she got her memories back.

Steven could hear talking in the distance, which he headed towards. As he got closer, he could make out the voices as Pearl and Adora; they seemed to be arguing over something. Or rather, Adora was trying to get something from Pearl, who wasn’t listening.

“No, it was the big one!” said Adora. “The big shiny one with the blue jewel in the middle! The one you took from my room!”

“Ah, of course!” said Pearl. Steven rounded the corner just as she produced a sword from her gemstone, handing it to Adora. It looked nothing like the Sword of Protection. “Here you are, My Imadora!”

“That’s not--” Adora just groaned in defeat, taking the weapon. “Oh, Steven, you’re up early.”

“So are you,” said Steven. He nodded towards Pearl. “Is...is something going on?”

“She ate my sword and won’t give it back!” said Adora, pointing at Pearl.

“I am simply storing it inside my gem for safekeeping,” Pearl said.

“Can I...have it back now?” she asked quietly.

“Certainly. What is it you would like to retrieve?”

Adora shot Steven a pitiful glance, who only shrugged in response. “My sword,” said the former. “The Sword of Protection, the one with--”

“Sword of Protection, right away.” With a glowing light, Pearl produced another sword, the correct one this time. Adora quickly snatched it away, clinging to it like it was her child. “I am glad I could be of service, My Imadora!”

“Um...yeah, me too,” said Adora. She took a step away from Pearl, who just took one towards her, staring up at her with wide eyes. “This feels so weird!” she whispered aside to Steven. “She wouldn’t leave me alone all night!”

“How do you think  _ I _ feel?” replied Steven. Spinel clung as tightly to him as Pearl did to Adora, though more literal in the pink Gem’s case. “It’s like she’s from opposite-world. All the Gems are. Pearl wants to be a servant, Amethyst’s acting all quiet and stuff, Ruby and Sapphire aren’t fusing--I don’t like it!”

“But hey, at least you still have me!” said Spinel.

“Yeah, I do,” Steven said quickly, almost dismissively. “Yesterday, I tried getting them to remember who they were--no, who they  _ are _ , but they weren’t listening. They might as well be completely different people now.”

The two of them and their respective hangers-on strolled through the corridors of the castle. “I’m sure you’ll get through to them eventually,” Adora said. “You were such a big part of their lives, they’re bound to remember something sooner or later, right?”

Steven nodded. “I hope so.” He stopped by a window, staring out into the garden below. A patrolling guard was being tailed by an exact double of herself, the only difference being that the copy was purple. Amethyst copied the guard’s movements as closely as she could, which had evidently been going on for a while, given how annoyed the guard seemed. “Adora...you have a sword, right?”

“I do, no thanks to her,” she said, shooting a glance back at Pearl. “Why?”

“Well...it’s just…” Steven struggled to find the right words. “Adora, when you first found your sword, did you have any weird dreams? Telling you to find it, or something like that?”

Not immediately grasping the implications, Adora explained. “Yeah, actually. After me and Catra found it in the woods, I I got these really weird visions of Light Hope talking to me.” She looked sorrowfully down at the blade. “I wish she was still around. There’s so much about being She-Ra I still don’t understand.” It hit her. “Why do you ask?”

“Because...I’ve been having some dreams, too,” said Steven. “Over the last few days. There’s a castle, and this voice is telling me to find a sword. Just earlier today, he said it was his sword. And I...I have no idea what any of it means. I just figured that since you had a magic sword, you must have been through something similar.”

Adora wasn’t sure what to say. I...I don’t know what this means, either,” she said. “Light Hope never mentioned anything about any other swords. Do you think this could have something to do with you being half-Diamond?”

Steven had explained everything yesterday, as had Adora.

“I don’t know, but I know it has to have something to do with everything that’s been happening lately,” said Steven. “Emerald’s faction and the Horde both attack after I’ve been having these dreams? It has to mean  _ something _ …”

Before either of them could comment further, not that there was really anything to be said, a voice called out to the two. “Steven! Adora!” Bow came hurrying over from the direction of the main hall. “I’m glad you’re awake already, we have to get the team together and head out, now!”

He ran further down the hall, the two of them following. “What’s going on?” asked Adora. “Is it the Horde?”

“The Horde and then some!” Bow said. “We just got word that they’re setting up some kind of huge base at the border of the Crimson Waste. And judging by the size, they’re preparing for something big. There’s no time to wait around!”

“Ooh, this should be fun!” said Spinel, running after them.

“Looks like you were right,” Adora said to Steven. “Back in business!”

_ _ _

“So...what do you think Catra’s bringing back?” asked Scorpia. She and Entrapta waited by the entrance to Catra’s sanctum for her to return. She and her entourage were on their way back, bringing an unknown package with her.

“I don’t know,” Entrapta replied. “She was really cryptic about it. She would have just told us if it was more First Ones tech, right?”

Scorpia looked around, taking note of all the cybertroops and the like nearby. “We’ve kinda got a surplus of that stuff right now. Even if she is bringing some more, I don’t know why she’d be so excited.”

“Looks like we’re about to find out,” Entrapta said. A platoon of Horde skiffs sped back to the Fright Zone, Catra’s among them.

As the skiffs came to a halt, Catra hopped out of hers, landing in front of Entrapta and Scorpia. “I take it you got my message?” she said.

“Well, we...certainly did,” said Scorpia. “What exactly was it about? You said you were bringing something back, and we should be waiting for you?”

Catra grinned, looking as sinister as she did pleased. “Not something, someone. And I have the feeling that someone will be exactly what we need to take down the Rebellion. Emerald! Come on out!”

Emerald, previously unnoticed by the pair, disembarked from the same skiff as Catra. She was occupied with examining her surroundings intently, taking in everything the Fright Zone had to offer. “So, this is the place,” she said. “I have to admit, it is impressive. But only a little bit. In a way, it almost reminds me of Homeworld. Again, only a little bit.”

“Ooh, a Gem!” Entrapta got right up in her face, causing Emerald to lean way back with an indignant expression. “Ever since the Crystal Gems left, I’ve been dying to meet another one! I’ve got so many experiments I’d like to--”

“Bah! Get away from me!” huffed Emerald, taking a step back. “Cursed organics,” she added under her breath.

“Huh. What’s a Gem doing here?” asked Scorpia. “And why does she want to help us?”

Catra was about to explain, only for Emerald herself to speak up. “I’ll tell you why! I don’t  _ want _ to help you, but I’m doing it anyway to get revenge on Lars of the Stars and get my ship back! And unfortunately, working with you is the best way to accomplish that…”

“Well, we’re glad to have ya!” Scorpia tried to give Emerald a hug, but the green Gem held out an arm and blocked her. After a few seconds of trying, she gave up; “Alright, we’ll, ah, we’ll put a pin in that.”

“Hmmph. Are these really the subordinates you want to surround yourself with?” Emerald asked Catra.

“Hey, they get the job done,” Catra said with a shug.

“It doesn’t seem right to me,” said Emerald. She strolled inside like she owned the place, completely ignoring any of the guards. Catra followed, amused. “Take mine, for example. The Gems under my command are disciplined, efficient, and unfailingly loyal. Why wouldn’t they be? I trained them myself! By contrast, your generals seem a little...well, I can’t speak for their loyalty, in any case. I could give you some pointers.”

Catra considered. “You know, Emerald, I feel like the two of us are more alike than I thought.”

Emerald scoffed. “I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.” Their path had taken them to a factory, where Horde bots and cybertroops were being constructed. “You seem to have the right idea about weapons, at least. But what good are all of these robonoids if you aren’t using them?”

“Excuse me?” said Catra. “You only just showed up an hour ago, why do you act like you know so much about this war? And of course we’re using these!”

“Obviously not enough,” Emerald muttered. “You see, Catra, the keyword here is ‘war,’ not ‘massacre.’ Given what I remember of this pitiful planet from the last time I was here, your Horde is much more technologically advanced than this rebellion you fight. If this technology was properly used, you should have flattened them in mere days.”

“And why do you suddenly know much more about this than I do?” said Catra, beginning to grow frustrated.

“Because I  _ do _ ,” Emerald said. “I am the greatest admiral Homeworld ever had. While your ancestors were still starting fires with sticks, I was conquering entire planets before noon. This may be your turf, Catra, but you can’t deny that I have the experience.”

This prompted a raised eyebrow from Catra. “Really? And if you’re so experienced, why does one simple pink boy in a spaceship give you so much trouble?”

Emerald’s temper flared, wheeling around to face Catra. “He is nothing! If he didn’t have my ship, I’d have blown him into space dust the moment I had the opportunity! This is not a matter of competence, it is merely--”

“I never said it was,” Catra said, smirking. “Looks like this Lars is a touchy subject for you, though.”

All Emerald did to reply at first was growl. She turned away, and continued talking after a pause. “Like it or not, we need each other’s help to win.”

“Do we, now? And what does Homeworld’s greatest admiral suggest we do?”

Emerald didn’t pick up on Catra’s sarcasm. “Easy. As I said, this is a war, not a massacre. If we want to change that, we’ll need to hit them fast and hard, with everything we’ve got. As soon as my Gems can contact the rest of my fleet, we’ll blow those princesses back to the stone age!”

“Hmm...promising,” Catra said. “In the meantime, we’ll--”

“ _ What we’ll do _ in the meantime,” Emerald interrupted, “is test their capabilities. You have experience with the Crystal Gems, the Rebellion, and Lars alike, while I don’t. I’ll need to see what they’re capable of so I can form a plan of attack. We’ll set up a false base for them to attack, making them think they’ve won. From there...well, we’ll see where it goes.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” said Catra.

“Hey, who among us two has conquered the most planets?” snapped Emerald. “Exactly, that’s what I thought. Unless you have a better idea, we’ll proceed with my plan.” Emerald walked off into the facility with an air of pompous pride about her. Catra growled as she left.

Entrapta and Scorpia had entered in time to see the tail end of their conversation. “What happened?” asked the former. “It sounded like you two were fighting.”

“We kind of were,” Catra said, her tail twitching. “Emerald seems to think she’s in charge just because I suggested we team up.”

“I knew I didn’t trust her,” Scorpia said. “The moment I saw her, I thought to myself, ‘this lady’s bad news!’ And I was right! We should--”

“Hold it,” Catra interjected. “I don’t trust her either, but like it or not, Emerald’s our best hope at beating the princesses. We’ll just have to put up with her for now.”

Catra followed after Emerald, hoping her new ‘friend’ wouldn’t completely wreck the place. Once she left, Scorpia and Entrapta shared a glance, unsure of where this new alliance would lead.

_ _ _

By this point, the fleet of rogue Gem starships that hovered above the Earth was unknown to nobody. Attempts had been made to contact these ships, but none had been answered. As far as everyone knew, destruction was imminent. And so widespread was the threat, one would have to live under a rock not to know of it.

And in at least one case, even someone living under a rock knew. Poking her head out of her (supposedly) temporary shelter, Jasper stared upward at the numerous warships orbiting the planet.

“Huh,” she said gruffly. “Interesting.” She went back inside without a second thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it feels like things are going a bit slow. I promise this is building up to something, just you wait!


	10. Down and Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess Alliance attacks the Horde outpost, unaware they're being watched. Steven finds himself unable to access his powers.

Chapter Ten: Down and Out

_ _ _

It was just as the scouts had said: the Horde was setting up a truly massive fortress at the edge of the Waste. Soldiers, weapons, bots--it was as though they were preparing for an invasion of some kind. Unknown to them, so was the Princess Alliance.

“Just as I suspected: heavily-fortified,” said Bow, viewing the base from afar through his binoculars. “But why here? And what are they preparing for?”

“Whatever it is, they sure aren’t prepared for us!” said Frosta.

“Not so fast,” said Adora. “Maybe they  _ are _ preparing for us. For all we know, they could be waiting to ambush us.”

A shape rustled through the bushes next to her, sticking out his equine head. “Well, then why don’t we turn that back around on them?” said Swift Wind. “Ambush the ambushers!”

“I like that plan!” said Frosta.

“As long as we can stop what they’re doing, I’m all ears,” said Glimmer.

“But we don’t even know  _ what _ they’re doing!” Adora said.

“Then why don’t we find out?” Now it was Steven’s turn to speak. “I know we aren’t really in the position to ask them, but there has to be someone or something in there that knows.”

“Great! Let’s go get the others!” Frosta excitedly ran back to their temporary camp. Glimmer teleported after her.

Adora shook her head. “I don’t like this, Bow. The Horde is up to something. I don’t know what, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s up here.”

“I’m sure they are, Adora. I trust your gut,” said Bow. “But everyone’s here. We could take everything Horde Prime had to throw at us, so what can these guys do?”

“With Catra in charge? I hate to imagine…” Adora said. Nevertheless, she too regrouped with the rest. “But that’s just all the more reason to put a stop to it!”

Hidden within the forest was the  _ Sun Incinerator _ , next to which the rest of the team waited for their next move. Despite Steven’s insistence, Spinel had tagged along, as did Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire. And Pearl absolutely refused to leave Adora’s side.

“So, we have a plan yet?” asked Mermista. Spinel hurried over to Steven, and Pearl to Adora. “Or are we just winging it?”

“I’m thinking something like what we did at Almura,” said Bow. “We split into two teams, and attack at different angles.”

“And, er...what should we do about...or friends, here?” asked Perfuma. She indicated the Gems, none of whom were exactly in fighting shape. Save for maybe Ruby, but she was practically glued to Sapphire.

“Don’t worry about them,” said Lars. “I’ll watch them while you guys take care of the Horde over there.”

“Theeeeey’ll beeee saaaaafe heeere,” said Fluorite.

Steven turned to his newfound best friend, hoping she wouldn’t resist too much. “Did you hear that, Spinel? It might get dangerous in there, so you need to wait here with Lars, okay?”

“But...but I’m your best friend!” protested Spinel. “We have to stick togeth--”

“I know, but I don’t want you to get hurt,” Steven said. “It’ll only be for a little while. Lars and the off-colors will take care of you, okay?”

Spinel looked very much like she wanted to argue further, but didn’t for one reason or another. Luckily, Adora had had more luck getting Pearl to stay; she had taken it as a command, standing patiently beside the ship. The Gems occupied, Steven and the Princesses set off to begin their assault.

The team split off into two smaller groups. Bow, Glimmer, Perfuma, and Frosta went to attack from the west, while Steven, Adora, Swift Wind, and Mermista headed to the east side. Everyone hid behind nearby trees, waiting for the signal. “Everyone ready?” said Adora.

“Ready when you are!” said Steven.

“For the Honor of Grayskull!” In a flash, Adora was transformed into She-Ra, sprinting towards the fortified wall of the base. A single swing was all that was needed to cleave through it. A path now open, the others charged as well. Over on the other side, Bow detonated his explosive arrow, blowing a similar hole in the wall. His team entered as well, catching the Horde troops unawares.

Steven held out his arm, preparing to summon his shield. But, much to his confusion, the pink disc would not appear. No matter how hard he tried, how much he concentrated, his weapon could not be summoned. “What the? What’s happening?” he asked, to nobody in particular.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” asked Swift Wind, noticing his plight. He flew over to Steven just in case any stray shots should come the latter’s way.

“It’s my shield,” he said, still trying to bring it out, to no avail. “It won’t...I can’t make it appear! I don’t know why!”

“Come on, over here!” As the battle heated up, Swift Wind pulled Steven into cover behind a nearby building. “So, uh, has this happened before?”

“Not really,” answered Steven. “I had a little trouble with my powers back when I was younger, but that was different!”

“Well, maybe it’s a confidence issue,” Swift Wind suggested. “Do you  _ believe _ you can bring your shield out?”

“Of course! I’ve done it more times than I can count!” Steven dug down, searching for any last bit of power within himself. Despite all of this, all that he could muster was a small flicker of pink light on his forearm. The exertion caused him to fall to his knees. “What’s going on?” he said quietly.

Swift Wind looked around uncomfortably. “Look, buddy, this isn’t really my area of expertise. I do know that sometimes Adora’s powers don’t work so good, but--”

Steven’s eyes suddenly went wide, as he realized what was happening to him. “The rejuvenator…”

“The who now?”

“The rejuvenator, Spinel’s weapon!” said Steven. “That’s the thing that made all the other Gems forget who they were! I thought it didn’t work on me, but...I guess it did.”

“Do any of your other powers work?” asked Swift Wind. “What about that one where you turn into that bigger person?”

“I need Connie to become Stevonnie,” said Steven. “But let’s see…” If he couldn’t summon his shield, there was still a chance he could create a bubble. Once again, he tried to bring out his latent powers, but no bubble appeared. “No…” Desperate for even the tiniest fraction to remain, Steven bent down to pluck a blade of grass, before licking his finger and placing it on the end. It did not grow back. “No! My powers are gone! Now what am I supposed to do!?”

“Uh, just lay low for now,” said Swift Wind, preparing to take to the air. “Leave this one to us, and we’ll talk about this once it’s safe.” He flew off, leaving Steven behind with no powers to call his own anymore.

Deeper within the fortress, the Princess Alliance fought the Horde’s forces. Adora took on droves of soldiers at once, cleaving through bots and cybertroops. “Heads up!” Shifting the Sword of Protection into a whip, she caught a Horde troop by the leg and tripped him up before he could stun Bow.

“Nice catch!” shouted Bow. “Perfuma! Give me a boost!” He notched a trio of arrows, bracing himself as a group of cybertroops approached.

“Coming up!” A large vine summoned by Perfuma appeared beneath Bow, throwing him into the air. He let the arrows fly, each one hitting their mark. As he was coming closer to the ground, a wave of water caught him, slowing his descent.

“Gotta watch yourself!” said Mermista. She threw a torrent at a battalion of soldiers, washing them aside.

Unbenounced to the princesses, their battle was being watched from miles away. Catra and Emerald saw everything through the eyes of the Horde’s robots, the latter watching especially intently. “I still don’t get what the purpose of this is,” said the former. “If we wanted to attack them, why not go all out?”

“We can’t afford to, at least not yet,” said Emerald, not taking her eyes off of the monitor. “We need to learn everything we can about your enemies before we can truly fight them.”

“And we need to waste good resources to do that?” said Catra.

“Trust me, this is more than worth the cost,” Emerald replied. “Now, prepare the cybertank.”

Back at the battle, Swift Wind landed near Adora, knocking a pair of Horde soldiers away. “Where’s Steven?” she asked.

“His powers aren’t working, so he’s hanging back,” said Swift Wind, blocking incoming stun blasts with his wings.

“What? What do you mean, his powers aren’t working?” Adora asked.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like!” Swift Wind said. “Something about a rejuvenator, or something.”

“Hang on--Glimmer!” Adora hurried over to her friend. “Glimmer! I think something’s wrong with Steven, could you make sure he’s okay?”

“Sure thing.” Glimmer, surrounded by unconscious soldiers, teleported away.

The battle was going in the princess’ favor, but that was about to change. Before anyone knew what was happening, the largest building at the center of the base began to shift. Gears turned and panels shifted as the Horde revealed their ace in the hole: the scavenged upper torso of a Horde Prime cybertank locked in place, turret charged and cannons spinning. The massive machine locked on to its targets, unleashing fire down on the princesses.

Frosta created an ice barrier to block the incoming fire, but it could only last so long. “Everyone get down!” shouted Bow. As the ice barrier splintered and cracked, the princesses ran for cover as the cybertank continued its barrage.

“Great,  _ great _ , just what we need!” said Perfuma, ducking behind a nearby building. “Is just a simple raid too much to ask!?”

“Hey, we’ve beaten these things before, we can do it again!” Adora said. “I’ll draw it’s fire, someone else take it down!”

“Adora, wait!” But despite Bow’s warnings, Adora had already run out into the open, waving her arms and making herself as visible as possible. Her sword had taken the form of a shield as she blocked some shots and dodged others.

Meanwhile, some ways away from the fighting, Steven still tried to form his own shield, to no success. “Come on, shield, come on! Why won’t you work?” In a flash of light, Glimmer appeared, interrupting his attempts--not that they were getting anywhere.

“There you are!” she said. “Adora said something’s wrong, are you okay?”

Steven looked down at his shield-less hand. “My powers aren’t working!” he said. “I want to be able to help you guys, but without powers, there isn’t much I can do!”

“Then come here!” Glimmer teleported away, taking Steven with her. They rematerialized some distance away from the Horde base, muffled sounds of conflict coming from within. “You wait here, we’ll meet up when we’re done.”

“But I--” Glimmer warped away, leaving him alone as the fighting carried on.

As much as Steven wanted to do something to help, he realized, albeit begrudgingly, that there was nothing he could do. With no shield, no bubble, presumably no healing, he would be more of a hindrance than a help. Reluctantly, he began walking back to the ship to wait with the Gems.

“Can I be mad at Spinel?” he wondered aloud. “This is technically her fault, but she isn’t the same Gem right now… Then again, maybe this is Emerald’s fault. I wonder where she went?”

“Steven! Hey, new best friend!”

“That almost sounds like Spinel now,” Steven mumbled. He looked up, seeing the pink Gem running towards him. “Wait, that  _ is _ her! I thought I told you to stay back with Lars and the others!”

“But I got bored…” Spinel said sheepishly. “And besides, why do I have to stay if Ruby and Pearl get to leave?”

“Ruby and Pearl…?” Sensing trouble, Steven looked up to see the Gems in question hurrying towards the battle. “What!? No, where are they going!?”

Steven ran after them, Spinel in tow. Likewise, as he ran, he soon came across Lars running after them as well, Amethyst similarly following him. “No, get back here!” he called, to no avail.

“No can do!” Ruby called back. “That fight over there could put Sapphire in danger! I can’t let that happen!”

“Yes, and I have to find Imadora!” cried Pearl.

Steven caught up with Lars. “Lars, what happened?” he said. “I thought you were watching them!”

“I  _ was _ !” he said. “But they heard the fighting over here, and Pads mentioned a fight, and then Ruby ran off, and Pearl followed her, and Spinel ran too--We couldn’t catch all of ‘em!”

The two Gems were surprisingly fast. Before either Lars or Steven could catch them, Ruby and Pearl had made their way into the base via the hole created by Adora. They followed, Amethyst and Spinel close behind.

Inside, the princesses were still fighting against the cybertank. Even though there was only half of it, it was still just as formidable as the whole thing. Adora continued trying to distract it, now aided by Glimmer.

“Hey, big robot! Shoot at me!” Adora shouted, waving her shield.

“No, over here! Shoot at  _ me _ !” Glimmer teleported all over, trying to confuse it.

While it was trying to decide on a target, Perfuma approached from behind, wrapping several vines around the cybertank. “I think I’ve got it!” she called. “Someone do something!”

But the cybertank was not as helpless as she believed. It turned around on its axis, tearing through the vines that held it. A shot from its turret-head was fired at Perfuma; luckily, she erected a barrier of plants to block it, but the shockwave still knocked her down. The cybertank prepared to follow up with its rotary cannons.

“Perfuma!” Adora fired a beam of her own from her sword--it wasn’t enough to damage the cybertank, at least not much, but it did get its attention. The massive machine turned back around, giving Mermista enough time to get Perfuma to safety.

Steven hid behind a building. “Pearl! Ruby! Get back here!” Neither Gem paid him any mind, running through fire to save their respective charge (neither of whom was in any immediate danger).

“Huh? What are they doing here?” asked Frosta. “Hey, Lars, didn’t you say you were gonna watch ‘em?”

“It was harder than it looked!” he called back.

“Imadora? My Imadora, where are you!?” cried Pearl, desperately looking all around to find the girl in question. Her eyes passed by She-Ra several times, apparently not noticing the two were one and the same. As she searched for someone who didn’t currently exist at the moment, she also didn’t notice the small group of cybertroops approaching, weapons out.

“Pearl, look out!” Despite his lack of powers, Steven sprinted over to her with no regard for his own safety. “Get away from her!”

He threw a punch at the nearest cybertroop. Unsurprisingly, the only one hurt by this was Steven himself. He fell to the ground as his fist collided with the metal, groaning in pain and holding his hand. If anything, at least it turned the cybertroops’ focus away from Pearl. And towards him.

With no way to fight back or defend himself, all Steven could do was try to get away. It didn’t look good, though, as the robots all had their blasters trained on him. Just as it looked like they were ready to open fire, someone shouted. Loudly.

“YAAAH!” A pink shockwave cut through the bots, sending most of them flying. Lars had launched a sonic shout to stop them. “You okay, Steven?”

“Yeah, I think--” But not all of the robots were dealt with. A small handful picked themselves up off the ground, readying their blasters once again. Before either Steven or Lars could react, a giant fist collided with one of them, smashing it to pieces.

“Don’t hurt my friend!” Who should come to Steven’s aid but Spinel, throwing herself at the machines. Two more were smashed, one by a giant fist, the other by a giant foot, and one more was thrown far into the distance. The threat dealt with, the pink Gem turned back to Steven, beaming.

“Thanks, Spinel!” said Steven. He was glad everyone was safe, but something still troubled him. Aside from his hand, that is. It didn’t seem to be broken, but it still hurt something fierce. He tapped it with the tip of his tongue, and...nothing. No shield, no bubble, no healing.

Of course, not everyone was safe, not yet. There was still the matter of dealing with the cybertank. Everyone was throwing everything they had at the machine, but despite its damage, it would not fall. “Just keep at it! It has to go down eventually!” said Mermista.

“We...we can’t keep this up forever!” said Swift Wind, out of breath. “Robots don’t get tired, after all!”

“Mermista’s right, we need to--hang on…” said Bow.

Glimmer teleported over to him. “What’s that?”

“I’m getting some weird readings,” he said, looking at his tracker pad. “Something’s heading this way. It’s coming from the Crimson Waste.”

“What? That can’t be right!” Adora said. “The Waste’s nothing but harsh sun, hot sand, and deadly wildlife. Unless...is the Horde sending reinforcements?”

While everyone took cover to ponder and/or prepare for this new development, the cybertank continued to scan for targets. One would soon reveal itself, announcing its presence with a fireball to the tank’s face. It focused on the source: a tiny Gem, staring up at it with fury. “You want a fight!? Get down here and let’s do this the right way!”

The cybertank charged up its main cannon, targeting the Ruby. Between the power of said cannon, its relative accuracy, and the Ruby’s refusal to back down or move, things would not have gone well for the red Gem. It would not have gone well, that is, save for two facts.

One, Ruby was not alone. When she ran off to join the fight, she had done so to protect Sapphire. Sapphire, however, was perfectly safe; though with the help of her future vision, she could tell that Ruby was not. As soon as the possibility of Ruby being in danger showed itself, she ran off as fast as she could--which was quite fast. She wasn’t entirely sure why, even.

“Ruby!” Moments before the cannon shot could hit its target, Sapphire appeared to tackle Ruby out of the way. The shot impacted several feet away, creating an explosion almost as great as the two of them felt in that moment. Their eyes met and their gems touched, and a white light enveloped them both.

And two, something else had distracted the cybertank. A sudden impact to its back, causing it to turn ever so slightly. Something grabbed its arm, moving it slightly more. Before it was able to register what was happening, it was beset by a wave of unseen attackers.

Looking out at the explosion, Adora noticed two things. First, was that Ruby and Sapphire had fused once more into Garnet. She looked quite different, however. “Wait, is that...Garnet?” Second, was that someone else was fighting the cybertank. A whole team of someones. “Who are…?”

Numerous beings dressed in rags, using weapons that seemed to be scavenged from scrap, attacked the cybertank at once. They, seeming to be led by a red lizard man, bound its rotary cannons with rope, preventing it from using them. Once they were disabled, another figure dealt the finishing blow. A truly enormous pink woman leapt to the top of the machine, driving a spear of some kind into its head. Sparks erupted from the wound, as the cybertank shook and shuddered, before finally going lifeless.

“Um, who exactly are these people?” asked Perfuma. “Are they what you picked up coming from your tracker pad, Bow?”

“I’m not sure,” Bow replied. “They  _ do _ look like they came from a place like the Crimson Waste, though.”

The red lizard man, now back on the ground, eyed the princesses from afar. “Looks like we’re not done yet,” he said, readying his whip. He sounded excited at the process of more fighting.

However, the pink woman held out her arm. “No. We don’t have any reasons to go after the princesses. Not now, anyway.”

They, the lizard man reluctantly, returned back the way they came. They boarded several Horde skiffs, scavenged by the look of them, and raced off back into the Waste.

“Y-you all saw that too, right?” said Frosta. “That wasn’t just me?”

“No, I’m pretty sure that was real,” said Glimmer. “So there are people living in the Crimson Waste--who knew?”

Once the fighting had ended, Steven made his way over to the newly-formed fusion. “Garnet?” he said. “Are you...Can you remember anything?”

“Garnet?” she said. “Is that my name?” She seemed more interested in looking at everything her surroundings had to offer than remembering her past, if she even could.

“Uh...Well, it’s a start, at least,” Steven said.

The base was all but abandoned, the Princess Alliance having won the day yet again. “Looks like we’re all done here,” Adora said, returning back to her normal form. “Let’s head back to Brightmoon and--”

“My Imadora!” Having located her master, Pearl sprinted to her side. “Thank the stars you’re alright! I couldn’t find you, and I feared the worst! I can’t tell you how glad I am to have found you!”

“Uh...yeah, me too,” Adora said, shying away. “So, what’s up with Garnet?”

“I...think she’s back,” Steven said. “Sort of.”

As the team regrouped and headed home, none of them noticed a Horde soldier watching from the shadows, disappearing out of sight.

_ _ _

Catra remained in her seat, grudgingly watching as Emerald made a mess of her computers. A cracked monitor with the imprint of a fist sat in front of her. “Are you  _ done _ yet?” she asked.

Emerald, breathing heavily, slowed and eventually stopped her rampage. “Yes...yes, I think I am,” she said. “Apologies, it’s just...that didn’t go nearly as well as I had imagined!”

“Hey, you’re the one who said this was only a test,” Catra reminded her. “They were supposed to win, remember?”

“This was an exercise to gather combat data!” said Emerald. “I can’t tell how these princesses fight when those Gems and  _ whoever those desert raiders were _ get in the way! They contaminated the whole experiment!”

“Whatever you say,” said Catra, unimpressed. “Look, this little science experiment of yours didn’t exactly pan out. We tried things your way--now we do things  _ my _ way.”

“And what exactly does ‘your way’ entail?” Emerald asked.

Catra made her way over to one of the lone intact computers in the sanctum, pulling up several files left over from Hordak’s time as the Horde’s leader. “You were able to bring a whole planet into this dimension, right?”

Emerald looked over the files--schematics for a portal of some sort. “Yes…”

“So, could you manage to do it in reverse?”


	11. Change of Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes' and villains' paths begin to converge.

Chapter Eleven: Change of Plans

_ _ _

The lone Horde soldier made his way through the forest, until coming across the familiar sight of a camp located in a clearing. Despite the camp not being a Horde base, he simply walked in without any concern, either from himself or those within.

And speaking of those within, not only were they completely unconcerned that a Horde soldier was in their midst, but they didn’t seem to be aligned with the Rebellion, either, or any sort of Etherian party. Many of them bore one or more oddities that could only be described as mutations. More (or less) limbs or eyes that their species should have, or other bizarre qualities giving some a monstrous appearance. In some, they were not recognizable as any species native to Etheria, or even beyond. Despite this, the Horde soldier just walked on through, paying them just as much mind as they paid him--that is to say, none aside from a glance.

The faceless trooper walked a familiar path that took him down into an underground hideout that the others present at the camp seemed to avoid. As he stepped down the stairs, a change overcame his form: the green of his armor was replaced with featureless black, before his shape morphed to a taller, more slender one. The black gave way to a darker green of scaly skin. Double Trouble arrived at the bottom, into his master’s air.

“Double Trouble. I’m surprised you came here as yourself. Usually, you come disguised as something or other.” Their master’s metallic voice came from the darker recesses of this lair, though it was too dark for him to be seen.

“I was  _ going _ to, but then I asked myself what the point was,” Double Trouble said, leaning up against a nearby piece of machinery. “I can almost never fool you anymore. Besides, Mantenna would have known it was me anyway…” A pair of creatures stood further into the room, one massive and muscular, one sharp and spindly. The latter stared at Double Trouble with bulging eyes. “Killjoy…” the shapeshifter muttered.

“Just as well.” At a table at the room’s end sat Double Trouble’s master, Modulok. A rack filled with vials sat before the scientist, each filled with a few drops of reddish liquid. “What knowledge have you brought back of the Horde’s latest excursion?”

“Oh, nothing new,” they said. “Once again, the great Rebellion swoops in to save the day! It was actually really boring. Although...there were a few unexpected guests…”

Modulok produced a small, unassuming pouch from a nearby drawer. “And what sort of guests were these?” He added a small pinch of black powder from the pouch to one of the vials. The red liquid began to violently churn, almost like it was trying to climb out of the glass tube.

“Crimson Wasters,” Double Trouble said, with all the enthusiasm of revealing a great secret. “They showed up completely uninvited, destroyed this big Horde machine, and then bailed!”

“So,” Modulok mused, “it looks like Hordak had made an army for himself after all. He’s done it once, I suppose it makes sense he could do it again.”

“And what about those Gems?” A third voice, belonging to a previously unseen listener. The darkness of the unlit room swirled around, conglomerating into the form of Shadow Weaver. “Surely even you didn’t expect their arrival? What effect will they have on our plans?”

“I assume you are referring to the planet Earth suddenly appearing?” Modulok said. “While I will admit, such a development was certainly unexpected, the presence of neither Emerald nor the Crystal Gems changes anything. We will proceed as normal.”

“And what  _ is _ normal?” Shadow Weaver approached the Surgeon, looming over him. “It has been two years since we first spoke, and what has been accomplished in that time? What purpose can this possibly serve?” She gestured to the vials in front of him, which he continued adding the black dust.

“We will do nothing, because we need not do anything,” he said. “And why should we?” He stood up, slithering over to a large tank containing a mutated creature. “When you have lived as long as I have, you will learn to be patient.” He turned back to face his partner. “In their war, the Horde and the Princess Alliance will accomplish everything we need for us.”

Although she wore a mask, it was clear Shadow Weaver was glaring at Modulok. “Let us hope so. Otherwise, I may regret allying with you…” Once again, she disappeared into the shadows.

Modulok grinned. “Dear old Shadow Weaver. Always a woman of action. We will be free of this prison soon enough, of that you can be sure…”

_ _ _

“What do you think it all means?”

Back at Castle Brightmoon, the Best Friend Squad discussed the recent battle. Even after raiding the base, nobody was entirely sure what its purpose was. For such a heavily-fortified installation, its placement was odd as well. Why the Crimson Waste, of all places?

“To be honest, I have no idea,” said Bow. He stared down at his tracker pad, looking over the data he had gathered from the fight. “This doesn’t seem like anything the Horde would do…”

“But does it seem like something  _ Catra _ would do?” asked Adora. “Like something to mess with our heads. Maybe she just did this to distract us from something bigger.”

“Maybe,” Glimmer said. “Our scouts haven’t seen anything so far, though. Maybe they’re just trying to tire us out?”

“Or maybe they just did this so we’d go crazy trying to figure out why they did this,” suggested Bow. “If that’s the case, their plan’s working!”

“Alright, everyone just take a minute to calm down!” said Adora. “We can’t let Catra get in our heads like this! That’s what she wants!”

“Easier said than done,” Bow said.

“The best thing we can do right now is wait for her next move,” Adora said. “Since we have  _ no _ idea what that could be, there isn’t really any way to prepare.”

“Of course there is!” Glimmer said, jumping up. “We know that someone else out there is fighting the Horde, right?”

“And...who would that be?” asked Adora.

“Those guys from the Crimson Waste!” Glimmer replied. “They just showed up outta nowhere, destroyed that cybertank like it was nothing, and vanished! If we can get those guys on our side, Catra won’t stand a chance!”

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” said Bow. “But there’s just one problem: we have no idea where they are. Or even if they’d  _ want _ to help us. ...Huh, I guess that’s actually two problems…”

“Well, we know they’re from the Crimson Waste, so that’s a start!” Glimmer said. “And we’ll bring Steven with us--getting people to join him is practically his specialty! Come on, let’s go!” Glimmer took off, teleporting out of the room before the other two could even get up.

“Glimmer, hang on!” said Adora, running after her. Bow followed. “Let’s think about this a little! I’m all for running into a situation blindly, but don’t you think we might be a little  _ too _ blind here? We should at least talk this over with Angella first!”

“If I had to guess, I’d say that’s exactly what she’s doing,” Bow said.

Once the two made it downstairs, they found that Bow was exactly right. Glimmer had already found her mother, and was giving her the pitch for their journey into the Crimson Waste.

“Think about it: we’d be unstoppable!” she said. “Since the Gems are in kind of an...iffy position right now, we need all the allies we can get. So, what do you think?”

Queen Angella thought about it for a moment. “This plan shows potential…” Glimmer perked up. “...but it’s ultimately too risky.”

Glimmer deflated. “Mom, come on! What about this plan is any riskier than anything we’ve done before!?”

“For one, the Crimson Waste is hostile, dangerous, and unexplored,” said the queen. “We have no idea what kind of dangers it could hold. And even then, these raiders you speak of could very well be just as hostile. This plan poses too much risk for what could very well amount to a wild goose chase!”

Lars, who was nearby, looked up. “You guys have geese on this planet, too?”

Glimmer tried to protest. “But--But--”

“No but’s, Glimmer,” Angella said. “I will consider sending out a scouting party, but that is as far as we will go for now. Until then, we must simply wait for the Horde’s next move.”

“Uuugh!” Groaning loudly, Glimmer teleported away. Figuring she would be back in her room, Adora and Bow walked back that way. Unknown to Angella, Lars opted to follow them.

“So,” Lars said, “You want to follow those weird guys from the desert?”

“Something like that,” said Bow. “But if Angella won’t let us go, there’s nothing we can do.”

Yeah, that’s true,” Lars said. “Can’t do anything. ...Except sneak out, that is.”

Bow and Adora shared a glance. “I mean, we definitely  _ could _ ,” said the latter. “But wouldn’t Angella be mad?”

“Not if she doesn’t find out!” said Lars. “And even if she does, wouldn’t she be glad to have a couple of new Horde-fighting allies?”

“...I guess…” Bow said.

“Great!” Lars hurried back down the stairs. “You go get Glimmer, I’ll warm up the ship!”

_ _ _

Within the dark of the long-inoperable command bridge of the First Ones ship, only two figures stood: Huntara and Hordak. Three, if you counted Imp. “I take it your excursion was a success?” said Hordak.

“Kind of,” said Huntara.

Hordak turned around, looking up from his work. “‘Kind of?’ Force Captain Huntara, explain to me how a simple mission can be ‘kind of’ a success?”

“We destroyed the Horde base,” Huntara explained. “The princesses were there. So were some Gems. No sign of your friend, though.”

Sighing, Hordak turned to continue working on his suit. One hand absentmindedly reached up to touch the purple crystal near his chest. “Catra must be keeping her at the Fright Zone. I suppose it was foolish of me to hope otherwise. Then we must--”

Hordak was about to stand up, but something happened. Something in him gave way, resulting in him falling to one knee. Imp flew over to him as he groaned in pain, looking at his master with concern.

Huntara, meanwhile, did nothing but take this in. “You saw nothing,” said Hordak. “Leave.”

“You’re getting weaker,” Huntara said. “This isn’t the first time something like this happened. You’re getting weaker, and sooner or later, you won’t be able to control us.”

“I said  _ leave _ !” Hordak bellowed. “Or do I need to remind you of my superiority?”

Huntara turned to go. “That armor of yours may make you stronger, but it’s failing, isn’t it? How long before it gives out completely?”

Once she had left, Hordak hauled himself back into his chair. “She...is right,” he said to Imp. “Years of disrepair in this arid wasteland have wreaked havoc on Entrapta’s creation. I can’t say how long it has left.” Once again, he touched the crystal powering his suit. “All the more reason to find her…”

_ _ _

Completely unaware she was being searched for (even though she did some searching herself), Entrapta was busy at work on another project. “Okay, I’ve worked some of the data for Project: Drawbridge into some First Ones tech. It’s only a prototype, so I can’t say what the results will look like, though.”

Catra and Emerald stood nearby, overlooking the portal before them. “Doesn’t matter,” Emerald said. “Is it ready for activation?”

“Just about,” Entrapta said. “Portal is increasing as we speak. Currently at thirty percent power...forty...fifty…”

“Hey, Catra?” whispered Scorpia. “I don’t really know about this. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of  _ course _ it is,” said Catra. “Stop worrying for five minutes!”

“...one hundred percent, and...gaining?” said Entrapta. “Emerald, are you sure this is safe?”

“It will be, if you throw the switch!” Emerald said. “Quickly, before it overloads!”

Entrapta threw the switch. Cracking with energy, the portal began to activate, its three pieces levitating into place. Emerald and Catra looked at it expectedly, though Entrapta seemed uncharacteristically worried. Soon it became clear why, as the energy grew unstable. The pieces of metal swirled around like debris in a tornado as the portal itself sparked and surged. Eventually, there was too much power to be contained.

“Catra!” cried Scorpia. As the portal exploded, she dove in front of her friend, pulling her to the ground. Entrapta hid behind the controls. Only Emerald was unconcerned, standing in place as only her hair was blown back by the force of the explosion.

Once the danger was over, Catra shoved Scorpia off herself. “Get off me!” she growled. She took her place back beside Emerald. “What happened?” she asked Entrapta.

Entrapta looked at the data present on the screen. “Well...the experiment was unsuccessful.”

“Obviously,” groaned Emerald. “Why?”

“The portal itself worked fine, but the quantum tunneling was unable to breach through Despondos into the main universe,” Entrapta explained. “It’s as if...oh, that’s strange. It’s like Despondos is some sort of sealed door, and we need a key to get through.”

“What  _ kind _ of key?” asked Catra.

“Most likely a powerful First Ones artifact of some kind,” said Entrapta. “But not just any artifact. Only something really, really powerful, like…”

“...Like Adora’s sword,” Catra said.

“Yes, that could work!” said Entrapta. “Do you think we could convince her to let us borrow it?”

“I’m sure we can work something out,” said Catra. “How about I go pay her a visit?”

“Great!” said Scorpia. “It’s been a while since we were out in the field. Catra and Scorpia, dynamic duo--”

“No,” Catra said. “You stay here. I need someone to make sure Entrapta doesn’t blow up the whole Fright Zone. And you…” She looked at Emerald. “...can you talk with your fleet again?”

“Almost,” said Emerald. “My subordinates are working on repairing the communicators as we speak. They should be ready in about…” She silently counted on her fingers. “...soon.”

“Good,” said Catra. “You all keep up the good work, I’m taking a team to Brightmoon to--”

“Wait a minute,” Entrapta said. “Catra, something’s on our radar. It looks like...a ship. It’s heading from Brightmoon to the Crimson Waste.”

Emerald looked at the radar, her face immediately contorting into a grimace. “Lars…” she growled.

“Well then,” said Catra. “I guess I’m going to the Crimson Waste.”

She stepped out, leaving the three of them behind. Scorpia looked back and forth between the door and Entrapta a few times, before deciding to quietly follow Catra.


	12. Into the Waste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The princesses and Horde both head into the Crimson Waste, unaware that their paths are close to converging.

Chapter Twelve: Into the Waste

_ _ _

“Remind me again…” said Catra. “I told you specifically to stay in the Fright Zone. Why did you decide to follow me? ...Actually, don’t answer that. Why did you decide to come along at all?”

Another fleet of Horde skiffs had departed for the Crimson Waste. Catra stood on one, aiming to track down Adora. Much to her annoyance, Scorpia had tagged along as well. Catra had sniffed out the stowaway rather quickly, but had decided that they were too far along at this point to turn around. She reluctantly allowed the Force Captain to tag along, Scorpia now standing by her side.

“Because, the Crimson Waste is dangerous even without all those raiders!” said Scorpia. “You need someone to watch your back, and I’m just the gal for the job!”

Catra groaned, stepping away from Scorpia. She raised her arms to the side, giving her a better look at the exoskeleton Entrapta had made for her. “Do I  _ look _ like I need someone to watch my back?”

“Well, no, but...hey, the more the merrier, right? Besides, Entrapta’ll be fine! Emerald’s there to watch her, isn’t she?”

It seemed like Catra didn’t really believe that, but she at least pretended to. And even if Scorpia was a handful, she was right about one thing: Catra would need all the help she could get. No, not help--backup. She never needed help.

Reaching the vast desert was the easy part. As the fleet of skiffs raced across the sands, lookouts scanned the horizon for any sign of civilization. Catra still wasn’t entirely sure why Lars’ ship had headed to the Waste in the first place, but she had a few ideas. Once they found him, he could lead them to Adora. And from there, she’d have everything she needed.

“So, what exactly are we looking for?” asked Scorpia. Once again, Catra found her to be entirely too close for comfort.

“You remember Lars, don’t you?” said Catra. After thinking for a moment, Scorpia nodded. “We’re after that ship of his.”

“Why do we need his ship? We already have--”

“We don’t want his ship!” Catra snapped. “We just want to find out where he is! That way we can follow him back to Adora and her sword. Or…” She ran her claws down the guardrail she was holding on to. “...we ‘convince’ him to take us himself.”

After a long time of travelling the Crimson Waste looking for anything that could be a lead (during which Scorpia insisted on making small talk), one of the lookouts finally spotted something. Through their binoculars, they spotted something glinting in the distance; something too metallic to be a rock, and too large and isolated to be a vein of ore. Catra ordered the fleet to turn towards it.

As they grew closer, the object became clearer. It seemed to be a vehicle--a Horde skiff, to be exact. It lay on its side, seemingly driven to crash by some unseen force. No troopers were around, so either they had left, been eaten by some giant desert monster...or were never there to begin with.

Catra ordered the skiffs to stop, and the troops to stay alert. Whatever wrecked this thing could still be nearby. She hopped down to the sand and made her way over, Scorpia following close behind.

“Hmm...yeah, that thing’s definitely seen better days,” Scorpia observed. “What do you think it means?”

“It means someone wanted us to find this,” said Catra.

Scorpia apparently didn’t understand. “They...wanted us to find a wrecked skiff out in the middle of the desert?”

“Exactly,” Catra continued. “Notice how it isn’t covered in sand? If it had been out here for a while, it should at least have a thin layer of sand on it. That means it was put here recently.”

“You’re sure?” asked Scorpia.

“No. Of course, it could have just crashed. Which makes it really weird that somehow, by sheer coincidence, it crashed just between the Fright Zone, and a Horde outpost on the other side of the Waste. One of our patrols would have had to run into it at some point.”

“Huh, that’s a pretty good point,” said Scorpia. “But that just begs the question of  _ why _ is it here?”

Scorpia was about to walk closer to investigate, only for Catra to hold out an arm to stop her. “Wait. Look closer.”

Although nearly invisible to most eyes, including Scorpia’s, Catra’s sharp vision had picked up one small, but no less important detail. A few wires stuck out from the skiff’s interior here and there, some of them looping back inside, some attached to even more well-hidden sensors. These blended into the metal almost seamlessly. “...I give up, what am I looking for?” said Scorpia.

“Just hold on.” Catra walked back over to where her skiff was parked. She took a stun baton from one of the troopers, aiming it at the crashed skiff. “You may want to back up a bit.”

Though she wasn’t sure what Catra was doing, Scorpia followed her advice, hurrying to a safe distance. Catra carefully took aim, letting a blast fly. The shot hit the side of the skiff, the sparks triggering the explosives that had been laid within. The wrecked skiff went up in an enormous fireball, sending shrapnel, sand, and tepid air in all directions. “What just happened!?” exclaimed Scorpia.

“I thought so,” said Catra, tossing the stun baton over her shoulder. “Someone laid a trap for us. And something tells me...that they’re still here.” She scanned the horizon, but was greeted with nothing but silence. Despite this, she knew her enemies were close by, just waiting to strike.

As if on cue, a battalion of raiders burst out of the sand--they had been hidden underground, covered by tarps while waiting for the Horde to arrive. Instantly they surrounded the unsuspecting soldiers, overwhelming them with speed and numbers. Nearly half of the whole party was taken out before the rest could offer any resistance.

“It’s an ambush!” shouted Scorpia. “Quick, do...something!” She blocked a strike from one of the raiders with her claw, before retaliating with a punch and taking cover behind a nearby skiff. “What’s the plan, Catra!?”

“There is no plan!” she yelled back, as raiders surrounded her. “Fight back, that’s the whole plan!”

About five of the raiders descended on her, each one bearing weapons and armor that seemed to be at least partially scavenged from Horde tech. “Well, if it isn’t ‘Lord’ Catra herself!” one of them said. “I knew we’d get lucky with this little booby trap, but I didn’t think we’d catch the lady in charge!”

Catra scoffed. “If you think an exploding skiff and a couple goons are enough to stop me, you’ve got another thing coming.” Catra unsheathed her claws, simultaneously activating a feature in her exoskeleton: metal blades connected to her fingertips were charged with energy, heating them to extreme temperatures. Catra’s already-impressive claws had been augmented by Entrapta’s designs. “Let’s go!”

All five raiders charged at once, which Catra used to her advantage. She attacked one, her claws easily slicing through his armor before she threw him to the ground. Another swung a polearm at her, which she cut in two: she grabbed the top half, using it to trip him up before throwing it at a third raider, momentarily stunning her.

A fourth raised his energy rifle, firing a shot at Catra. She held up her arm, blocking the shot with her gauntlet. Before he could fire another, Catra took control of his blaster, firing several shots at the fifth raider, dispatching him before he could even get close. She then finished off the fourth with a kick to the stomach, and a knee to the forehead.

The third of them was not finished just yet, and charged at Catra with a sword above her head. She didn’t get far, however, collapsing before she could reach her target. Catra turned around to see that Scorpia had stung her attacker. “I did say I’d watch your back, didn’t I?”

In spite of everything, Catra couldn’t hold back a grin. “Come on, let’s show these two-bit desert scumbags why you don’t mess with the Horde!” Side by side, Catra and Scorpia charged.

The few Horde troopers that were still conscious fought back as well as they could, but they were still outnumbered. Without the superior numbers and firepower they were used to, it was only a matter of time before the raiders took all of them out. However, that all changed when Catra and Scorpia joined the fray. The former charged in like a bulldozer, tossing raiders aside, while the former finished off the ones she missed.

“What are you all waiting for!?” shouted Catra. “Are you going to let these scavengers get the better of you!? You’re Horde soldiers, now start acting like it!”

With their presence added to the fight, the soldiers felt reinvigorated. One by one, they picked themselves and their comrades up, dusted themselves off, and leapt back into combat. Stun batons and energy whips collided with rusty swords and scavenged blasters as the former underdogs fought harder than ever.

Scorpia grabbed a raider and threw them into the air. Catra hit them with a leaping kick as they came down, sending them into another raider. The raiders, recognizing the pair for the threat they were, began converging on them. Despite the massive amount of enemies piling up, neither was deterred. Claws and stingers flew as every last raider fell before them.

Before long, the fighting stopped. Catra and Scorpia stood, panting, in the middle of a pile of defeated raiders. Victorious, a few of the Horde troopers couldn’t help but cheer as the others began tending to their wounded brethren.

Catra looked around at the carnage surrounding her, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly impressed. “You see?” she said, looking up at Scorpia. “I knew we could handle them.”

“Of course we could!” exclaimed Scorpia. “You and me, Catra and Scorpia, the original Super Pal Duo? We’re unstoppable!”

Catra grinned once again. “Alright, I’ll say it: we make a pretty good team.” Scorpia positively beamed. “Okay...change of plans.” Catra walked over to a raider that had been stunned by Scorpia’s venom. She lifted him up by his shirt, her face inches from his. “Alright, big guy...since your little ambush failed-- _ again _ \--I’d say you owe us a little favor. It’s not like you’re in any place to refuse.”

“What do you want?” snarled the raider.

“You and your little buddies are gonna tell us where your base is,” said Catra. “And then, you’re gonna take us there.”

_ _ _

As he sat down on the sand, Steven couldn’t help but stare at his gemstone. By now, he had more or less accepted that his powers were gone...but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. In spite of its lack of power, the gem shone as brightly as ever, maybe even more so under the hot desert sun.

“Why so glum, chum?” asked Spinel, sitting down beside him. “Is your gem still on the fritz?”

“Hmm? Yeah, it is,” Steven said. He was now flanked by two Gems: Spinel on his left, Amethyst on his right. The latter had sat down beside him earlier, copying his movements. “You, uh, wouldn’t happen to have any insight into that, would you? Any ideas?”

“Mmmmmmmmm...nuh-uh,” said Spinel. “Got no insight, outsight, oversight,  _ or _ undersight! But what I  _ do _ have is some words of wisdom!”

“And what are they?” Steven asked, him and Amethyst looking at her expectantly.

“I may not know much,” Spinel said, “but I know that you don’t have to have all sorts of fancy powers to get by! Know what you do need?” She pointed into the distance, where Adora, Pearl, Glimmer, Bow, Lars, the Rutiles, and Garnet were. “Friends! The bestest, loyalest, friendliest friends you can get!”

Steven looked down at his gem again, then back up at his friends, and then back to Spinel. “You know what, Spinel? You’re right. “I didn’t have any of my powers when I started out, but I still made it! And Connie never had any powers, but she’s one of the most powerful people I know! And my dad doesn’t have powers, and neither does Sadie, or Bow--Lars has powers, but he didn’t used to, and neither did Peridot!” He stood up, Amethyst and Spinel following suit. “Hey, Spinel?”

“Yeh?”

Steven reached out a hand. “We may have only known each other for a few days...but you really are a good friend.”

“Awww, thanks, Stevie!” said Spinel, throwing her arms around Steven. Amethyst joined in the group hug as well. “You’re a good friend, too!” Eventually, they broke off. “Y’know, I can’t remember who told me that. But I’m sure they were a good friend, too!”

Once again, Steven glanced down at his gemstone. “Spinel...you said you knew my mom, right?”

Spinel looked thoughtful. “Maaaaaaybe. Which one’s your mom? The swirly one with three eyes? Or the pink one with the wings?”

“No, not them,” Steven said, smiling slightly. “Her name was Rose Quartz.” Spinel shrugged. “Wait, you might have known her as Pink Diamond. Ring a bell?”

“I...no, I can’t say it does,” said Spinel. Despite this, however, her eyes gained a dark shadow to them for a split second, identical to how they looked when Steven first met her. It lasted only a moment, but Steven noticed. “Sorry, I don’t know any Diamonds! Not personally, anyway!”

“That’s alright, don’t worry about it,” Steven said. “Come on, let’s go see if Bow found anything!”

“See anything yet?” asked Lars.

“Not yet,” said Bow, scanning their surroundings with his tracker pad.

“Me neither,” said Garnet, looking into the distance with Bow’s binoculars. “But I’ll keep looking!”

“Remind me again. What are we looking for?” asked the Rutiles.

“First Ones stuff,” said Adora. “Instead of scanning the whole desert for places where those Crimson Waste guys  _ could _ be, we thought it’d be easier to look for some places they’ll  _ probably _ be!”

“And...you think they’ll be at a First Ones site?” asked Rutile. “Just like that?”

“Hey, it beats combing the whole desert!” said Glimmer with a shrug.

“Wait, hold on!” said Bow, springing to his feet. “I’m getting a reading! It’s faint, but whatever it is, it’s pretty powerful!” With everyone except Garnet bunching up behind him to see the screen, he held out the tracker pad to catch the signal. “It looks like it’s coming from...that way! Garnet, could you check it out?”

“Okay!” Garnet looked up from the binoculars for a moment, before turning to look where everyone else was facing. “I can’t really see anything...just a lot of rocks. Really, really big rocks.”

“Yeah, I can see them from here,” said Glimmer. “Adora, you still have the map?”

“Yup! Pearl? Map me!” said Adora.

“Right away, My Imadora!” said Pearl, producing a map from her gemstone and handing it to her.

Adora unfolded the map, scanning over its surface. “Let’s see...if we’re here...and north is this direction...that looks like it’s right here! Right in the center of the Crimson Waste!”

The Rutiles looked at the map. “The center, huh? What could be there?”

“Whatever it is, it’s probably important,” Bow said. “Even if it isn’t the people we’re looking for, we should probably check it out.”

“Sounds like a plan!” said Adora. “Pearl? Sword me!” Pearl handed her the Sword of Protection. “Let’s do this!”

The group set off back for the  _ Sun Incinerator _ , meeting up with Steven, Spinel, and Amethyst on the way. “You’re done already?” said Steven. “What did you find?”

“Big rocks!” said Garnet, looking proud.

“And a powerful First Ones signal,” said Bow. “We’re going to go check it out, just in case.”

“Hey,” Glimmer said to Steven. “Is your gem still not working?”

“Yeah, but I won’t worry about it right now,” Steven said. “We’ve got more important things to deal with, like the Horde, and Emerald, and the Gems’ memories. Besides, Spinel reminded me you don’t need powers to make a difference!”

“That I did!” she said.

“How true!” said Lars. Bow nodded in agreement.

They arrived back at Lars’ ship. “Wherever we’re going, let’s just hope it doesn’t try and kill us,” said Adora. “...Aw, who am I kidding, we all know it will.”


	13. Crash Site

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives at the raiders' base, hoping to ally with them against Catra's Horde.

Chapter Thirteen: Crash Site

_ _ _

“Yup,” said Adora, resignedly. “Whatever’s in there is definitely gonna try to kill us.”

After a brief flight closer to the signal, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ had touched down on a hill overlooking the source: a crashed First Ones vessel, embedded into the desert. Some sort of encampment had been built around it, with metal scaffoldings forming walkways between hastily-constructed towers. There were numerous Crimson Wasters standing guard, enough that this wasn’t just some wayward outpost.

“No need to be so negative,” Steven said, trying to lighten the mood. “They could be friendly. Why don’t we try talking to them? Just watch: we’ll head down there, and after a few minutes, they’ll be on our side!”

Glimmer leaned over to Lars. “Is he always like this?” she asked quietly.

“Eh, yes and no,” Lars replied.

“You know what? I’m with Steven on this one,” said Bow. “Sure, they look scary and ready to fight, but you know who else is? The Horde. I’m willing to bet that they’re just local people trying to defend themselves from a Horde attack. If we head down there and explain who we are, I’m sure they’ll be willing to listen!”

“I’m in!” said Spinel, giving a thumbs-up. “Better to solve problems with talking ‘stead of fighting, that’s what I always say! …’Course, it isn’t like I can’t fight if I  _ need _ to.”

“And we probably  _ will _ need to,” Glimmer said. “We should have a plan B, just in case.”

“Alright, here’s the plan,” said Adora. “Bow, you and Steven are the least threatening of us, so you’ll go down there and--”

“Wait, are you saying I’m threatening?” asked Glimmer, half-jokingly.

“Well...I’m not  _ not _ saying that…” said Adora.

“And you’re saying I’m  _ not _ threatening?” said Bow, not-jokingly.

“Can we focus, please!?” Adora hissed. “Bow and Steven will go and try to talk to them, and if they turn out to be hostile and attack--”

“You mean, when they inevitably do attack,” added Glimmer.

“ _ When they inevitably attack _ ,” Adora said, growing more annoyed, “the rest of us will rush in and help out before things get too intense.”

“Excellent strategizing, My Imadora!” Pearl said cheerfully. “I’ve written it all down right here!” She held up a holo-screen displaying something written in Gem script.

“Okay, sounds good to me!” said Steven. “I imagine Spinel will be coming along, too.”

“You bet!” Spinel said, leaning closer to Steven. Amethyst repeated after her, mimicking her movements.

“Can I come, too?” Garnet asked quietly, raising her hand.

“Hmm…” Adora examined the multicolored fusion. “Can you fight?”

“I can if I need to!” she said cheerfully, holding up her fists. She tried to scowl, but her expression looked more like a pout.

“...Yeah, you’d better go down there with them,” said Adora. Garnet grinned and happily skipped over to Steven’s group. Two Gems and Bow behind him, Steven started off down the hill towards the ship.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Bow asked him. “Without your powers, it...could get pretty dangerous down there.”

“Nah, I’ll be fine!” Steven said. “I’ve got you, Garnet, and Spinel, don’t I? And besides, I still have the greatest power of all: my ability to persuade!”

“That’s one way to look at it,” said Bow.

With the four of them walking in plain sight towards the base, it wasn’t long before someone spotted them. They could tell by the commotion within that the guards were debating what to do with them. Nobody shot at them, or ran at them with swords, which was a good sign. Hopefully, these desert nomads were just as opposed to the Horde as they were.

“Okay, let’s get our story straight,” Bow said as they got closer. “We’re explorers, and we got separated from the rest of our party. We’ve been wandering the desert for a few hours, and we’re relieved to have found civilization. Everyone got that?”

Spinel grinned and gave another thumbs-up, Garnet nodded, and Steven said “Yup!” By the time the four of them reached the base, a gang of raiders was present at the entrance to meet them.

“Uh...Hello there!” said Bow, awkward waving.

One of the raiders, a gruff-looking snakekin, stepped ahead of the others. “What’s this about, eh? What’re a couple characters like you doin’ out here in the Waste?” His hand hovered close to a knife at his hip.

“Oh, I can’t tell you how good it is to finally meet someone out here!” said Steven, mocking relief. “We’ve been wandering out here for days! Do you have any water? Because we  _ really _ need some water!” The four of them all feigned exhaustion, including Garnet.

The raiders looked to one another, as though confused. “A’right...but why’re you out here in the desert in the first place?” asked the biggest one.

“We’re, um, archaeologists,” said Bow. “Our research party was attacked by the Horde, and we got separated. We don’t want to trouble you, just a few moments and we’ll be gone!”

The larger raider thought for a moment, then pulled his companions into a huddle. After whispering to each other for a few moments, he turned back to face the group of ‘explorers.’ “So, Horde’s givin’ you trouble, too, huh? Alright, you can come in for a bit.”

“Yay, thank you so much!” Spinel sprang forward, wrapping him up in a hug. “You’re such a kind and generous host!”

The snakekin man pried the Gem off of him. “Don’t push it, pinky.” He waved for the guards to stand down, and escorted Steven and the others inside. Steven looked around nervously at the multitude of aggressive-looking raiders that surrounded them. “‘Ey, Huntara!” he called out. “We got visitors!”

The raiders parted as an imposing figure made her appearance. A very tall, very muscular woman with pink skin strolled towards the group: the same one from the Horde base. With her build and hair color, Steven likened her to a Quartz. Two other figures walked beside her, a goatkin woman and a lizardkin with four arms.

“So,” she said, “What’s a couple of characters like you doin’ out here in the Waste?”

“Apparently, they’re archaeologists,” the snakekin man said, his tone of voice skeptical.

“We had a bad run-in with the Horde,” said Garnet. “We were wondering...could you help us?”

“With what? Fighting the Horde?” asked Huntara. “What do you think we’ve been out here doing for the past two years?”

“So, you’re against the Horde, too?” Steven said hopefully.

“Yeah, basically,” Huntara said. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“In that case, we both want the same thing!” said Steven. “The Horde’s attacking all our homes, too. We should team up! It’ll be a lot easier to fight them together!”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Another voice came from behind them. The four turned around to be faced by another snakekin man, this one with red skin and a whip tightly gripped in one hand. “Not with your kinda company, anyway.”

“Uh, what do you mean?” asked Bow, trying to hide his nervousness.

“What’s this about, Lashor?” said Huntara.

“What it’s about,” he continued, “is the ship we picked up on our scanners landing not far from here.” He glanced up at Huntara. “If they’ve really been lost in the desert for as long as they say, wouldn’t they have seen it?”

“I...have no idea what you mean!” said Spinel. “What ship?”

“The one you came here on!” said Tung Lashor. Bow twitched, which he noticed. “Am I right? I’m right, aren’t I? And if you’re not lost, what are you doing here? Who are you really with?”

“N-nobody!” said Steven. It was clear that the raiders were beginning to grow suspicious, Huntara included. “Back me up here, Bow…”

“You know what I think?” Tung Lashor said. “I think they’re with the Princess Alliance!”

“What?” said Bow, his voice having gone up an octave. “No, that’s ridiculous! We don’t...don’t associate with those princess types! Right, Spinel!”

“Nope, of course not!” Spinel said. “I don’t even know any princesses! I didn’t know what a princess was up until recently!”

“Is that so?” Tung Lashor stepped forwards, letting his whip loose. “So, none of you are magic?”

“Not one!” Garnet said.

“Huh. In that case…” For a moment, it looked like Tung was going to walk away, turning his back on the group. Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, however, he spun around, swinging his whip directly at them. Steven closed his eyes, preparing for the impact.

In a pink flash, the whip stopped in its tracks. Glimmer stood before the group, holding the tip in her hand. “I don’t think so!” She yanked the whip, pulling Tung Lashor to the ground.

“See?” he said, sounding smug despite spitting out sand. “Princesses.”

“Well, wouldja look at that?” Huntara cracked her knuckles, she and the other raiders tightening their circle around the group. “The boss doesn’t really care for princesses, not anymore than he does the Horde.”

Bow produced his, well, bow, notching an arrow. Glimmer’s fists erupted in sparkles. Garnet and Spinel held up their fists as well, as did Steven, for all the good he knew he could do. “Wanna tell us who your boss is?” asked Glimmer.

Huntara picked up a small rod, which, at the press of a button, extended into a large staff. “You’re gonna have to earn that!” she said.

The raiders charged. Bow and Glimmer met their assault before running out of the huddle. Garnet, despite her lost memory, could apparently still throw a mean punch, even without her gauntlets. Spinel, meanwhile, pulled Steven out of harm’s way with her stretchy limbs. “Let’s get you somewhere safe,” she said.

“Thanks, Spinel,” he said. He sounded disappointed. “So much for my plan.”

Spinel shrugged. A raider ran at the two of them. Spinel punched him away. “Eh, you win some, you lose some.”

“Yeah, but it sure feels like I’ve lost a lot lately,” he said.

Spinel gave him a gentle punch on the shoulder. “Hey, who better to change that than you? Let’s go get ‘em!” She tooted a little fanfare into her hand shaped like a trumpet, before charging into the fray. Steven ran after her.

Huntara ran at Bow, her staff extended. She swung the weapon, but just before it could make contact, it collided against another weapon, sparks flying from the impact. “Not so fast!” said Adora, her sword blocking Huntara’s staff.

“You a princess, too, blondie?” said Huntara, as their respective weapons clashed.

“Oh, I’m  _ the _ princess!” said Adora.

A short distance away, safe from all the fighting, Pearl watched Adora intently, cheering her on. “Go, My Imadora, go! Show them your might!” Nearby, Amethyst was busy copying Tung Lashor, of all people.

“Heh, big talk for such a little girl!” said Huntara. She pushed against the Sword of Protection with all her might, which was quite a bit more might than Adora had at the moment.

“‘Little,’ huh?” Adora shot back. “Why don’t you try this on for size?” Despite her current predicament, Adora refused to falter. “For the Honor of Grayskull!”

A bright light obscured her form, which grew to nearly match that of Huntara. “What the!?” she yelled, momentarily blinded. When the glow subsided, She-Ra stood where Adora had.

She smirked. “Not so little now, huh?”

Huntara laughed. “Still little enough!”

She swung her staff, which Adora blocked once again. While the two titanesses traded blows, Pearl stood nearby, looking around in confusion. Just as before, her master had disappeared without a trace. “My Imadora!” she called. “My Imadora, where have you gone?”

The only person not currently fighting someone, Steven turned towards her shouts. “Pearl?” He ran over. “Hey, Pearl!”

“Hmm? Oh, Steven Universe!” she said. “Please, if you could help me--I can’t seem to find Imadora anywhere!”

“Uh…” Steven stared at She-Ra. “But she’s right there.”

“Impossible!” Pearl said. “That glowing golden woman looks nothing like Imadora! No master of mine would make such a radical change to her form!”

“That’s basically what my mom did,” Steven said. “You remember that?” A brief pause. “Oh, wait, of course you don’t remember that.”

“Your…’mom?’” said Pearl.

“Yeah. Rose Quartz? Pink Diamond? Either of those names ringing a bell?”

Pearl glanced around. “If they do, I certainly can’t hear one. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my master.”

“Pearl, wait!” said Steven, running in front of her. “Don’t you get it? This isn’t you!” Pearl only stared blankly at him. “The Pearl I know didn’t have a master! She was devoted to Rose Quartz because she loved her, not because she had to be!”

“I-I don’t understand,” said Pearl. “Who is this ‘Rose Quartz’ you keep mentioning?”

“She…” Steven struggled to find a way to explain it to the amnesiac Pearl. “Rose Quartz is the woman you loved more than anything else in the whole universe,” he said.

“Was...she my owner before Imadora?”

“No! ...Well, yes, but...not exactly. She loved you Pearl. And you would have done anything for her. And when she had me, you...you did everything to protect me.” When Pearl still didn’t respond, Steven pulled up his shirt, revealing his gemstone. “Look, she passed on her gem to me. Tell me this doesn’t bring back any memories!”

Pearl looked closer at the gem. A spark of recognition appeared in her eyes. “I…” But after a moment, it dimmed again.

Steven had to strike while the iron was hot. “Yeah! You and her started the Crystal Gems! With Garnet, and Amethyst, and Bismuth, and everyone! And one time...one time you told me, she made you feel like you were everything.”

“Everything…”

Suddenly, Pearl’s entire body was enveloped in a glowing white light. Steven stepped back in surprise as she rose up into the air, her physical form shimmering. Slowly, her appearance began to change, cycling between every other form she had taken since Steven had known her. After a moment, the light show was over, and Pearl slowly descended to the ground. Her color returned, revealing the same Pearl that had been with Steven before this whole mess had begun.

Steven approached her cautiously. “Pearl?” he asked softly. “Do...you remember me?”

Pearl met his gaze, returning it with a warm smile. “Of course I remember you, Steven.”

“Does this mean you aren’t Adora’s servant anymore?”

“Oh, I’m nobody’s servant!” Pearl declared proudly. “I’m my own Pearl, and nobody can keep me down!”

As it turned out, Pearl’s transformation had attracted some attention. A small gang of raiders were headed in their direction. “Uh, Pearl?” said Steven. “I think we’ve got some company!”

“Do we? In that case…” Pearl threw her arms over her head, spinning around once as she summoned her spear from her gemstone. “I’d be happy to entertain them!”

“Pearl’s back, alright!” Steven said.

Pearl met the group with her spear, tripping one up before he even knew what was happening. She fought off the attackers with the grace of a ballerina, her spear like her ribbon.

Meanwhile, Adora and Huntara continued to clash. Metal met metal again and again, neither of them backing down.

“Not much of a princess, princess!” Huntara said.

“Oh, I’m just getting started!” said Adora.

“ _ Enough _ .”

Just one word carried enough power to halt the entire fight. Everyone, princess, Gem, or raider, stopped in their tracks. Everyone knew that voice. With a feeling of dread, they all turned towards its source. “Hordak…” Adora murmured. “He’s here?”

Hordak walked from the darkness of the ship and into the sunlight. Imp flew around him, before perching on his shoulder. The former leader of the Horde scanned the area, glaring at everyone he saw, enemy or ally.

With a swing of his arm, a crimson blade of pure energy erupted from his wrist. The air hummed from the heat as his gaze focused on Adora, singling her out as the greatest threat. One he knew all too well.

“ _ This. Ends. Now. _ ”


	14. The Old Horde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After two years of isolation, Hordak finally reveals himself to do battle with Adora.

Chapter Fourteen: The Old Horde

_ _ _

Admittedly, Adora had wondered where exactly Hordak had been all these years, especially once she knew that Catra had taken his place. Now that she was face to face with him, however, she figured she would have been content with not knowing.

Once the former Horde leader entered the scene, all of his raiders slowly made space for the imminent battle. Every single one of them had been coerced into joining his side by force, and as such, they knew all too well what he was capable of. Even Adora and the others were hesitant to approach him.

Hordak made the first move, lunging at Adora with his blade extended. He was surprisingly quick; Adora barely had time to raise the Sword of Protection to block. His energy blade hissed as it met metal, his crimson eyes glaring into Adora’s. Imp had taken to the skies, circling the pair.

She said nothing. Unable to push him back, she ducked under his blade, swinging her own sword at him. He leaned back to dodge. When Adora raised her sword to strike again, he thrust out his palm, a blast of energy sending her flying.

Adora got to her feet, spitting out sand. “Adora! Are you okay?” Glimmer teleported over to help her friend to her feet, and Bow wasn’t far behind. The two of them stood beside her, preparing to face Hordak.

“I’m fine,” Adora said. She glared at Hordak. “So, is this where you’ve been all this time? The former leader of the Horde, reduced to a desert nomad?”

“Hardly.” Hordak gestured around to the raiders surrounding them. “While you and Catra have been at each other’s throats, I’ve been amassing an army to reclaim my rightful throne. After I’m done with you, I will return to the Fright Zone and do the same to your friend.”

“That’s assuming you win!” Hordak turned towards the voice, seeing Steven, with Pearl next to him.

“You look familiar,” said Hordak, trying to remember where he knew the boy from. “Where have I seen you before?”

“I’m Steven, Steven Universe, from Earth!” he said. “Does that ring a bell?”

“Earth…” Hordak growled. “Steven…” Memories came flooding back to him. “Yes, I know all too well who you are.” Hordak threw both his arms to the side, an energy blade igniting from each wrist. “And you are a liability that cannot be allowed to stand!”

Just as before, Hordak charged, this time towards Steven. Pearl instinctively shoved him aside, meeting his twin blades with her spear as Spinel pulled Steven to safety. “I won’t let you hurt Steven!” cried Pearl. “Especially now that I just got him back!”

“How noble,” Hordak said. “Unfortunately for you, you don’t have a say in this matter.” He prepared to strike her again, only for something else to catch his eye. He whipped around, catching an arrow moments before it could hit its mark.

Bow prepared to fire another one. “We can’t let him separate us; we only have a chance if we take him all on at once!” He aimed at Hordak, while Glimmer and Adora charged.

While he was distracted, Pearl struck with her spear. The weapon collided against Hordak’s armor; it didn’t break through, but it did cause some sparks to fly, causing Hordak pain. She backflipped out of the way when he swung at her.

The next arrow heading towards him fared no better than the first, as Hordak simply leaned to the side, causing it to sail harmlessly past him. Glimmer teleported near him, blasting him with energy before disappearing again. Despite being blinded by the blast, he was still able to block Adora’s next attack. “This means nothing!” he shouted. “Without the princesses at your side, you cannot--Argh!”

Hordak suddenly cried out in pain, stumbling back from the fight. His armor sparked and seemed to be cracking apart. It was subtle, but it almost seemed like it was falling apart at the seams. Once it passed, however, his vigor was renewed, and he once again threw himself at his foes before any of them had time to dwell on this.

Adora met his blades with hers, but wasn’t prepared when he followed up with a punch. She fell back, but just before he could strike again, Glimmer appeared, teleporting her out of harm’s way. Pearl returned Hordak’s strike with one of her own, to which he followed up with a swing of his blade.

From a safe distance, Steven watched the fighting go down. As his four friends united to take on the Horde’s former leader, he noticed that none of the raiders were rushing in to assist him. “Hey...how come they’re not fighting?”

“Hmm?” asked Spinel.

“Well, usually, the bad guy’s henchmen will try to help him out,” Steven said. “But they’re just watching, even though they were fighting us earlier.”

“That’s simple.” Both Steven and Spinel were startled to notice that Huntara was standing right beside them. “This is his fight. It’s not our place to interfere. Also...we just don’t want to.” She glanced down at the two. “It’s not like we follow him out of loyalty or anything.”

“So, you just do what he says because...he’s tougher than you?” Steven asked.

Huntara shrugged her shoulder. “That’s just how it works in the Crimson Waste.”

Hordak seemed to be growing more and more furious as the battle progressed. Not only that, but it was almost like his movements were becoming less coordinated and more strenuous. Despite this, he was almost always able to block or avoid an incoming attack, even ones coming from behind him. Adora and Pearl’s blades were almost always blocked, and aside from one that Hordak had reached for but missed, Bow had been unable to land an arrow on him. Glimmer had more luck, though that was most likely because of her powers being inherently unpredictable.

“How’s he doin’ that?” said Spinel. “It’s like he’s got future vision, or somethin’!”

Steven had noticed it too. “I don’t know _what_ he has,” he said. “Maybe he has cameras built into his suit.” His eyes caught a glimpse of movement above them; he looked up to see Imp circling the fight below like a vulture, always facing behind his master. “Or maybe…”

Hordak rotated to block Pearl’s spear with one of his blades, having blocked Adora’s sword with the other. Glimmer teleported in to blast him, but he disabled his energy blades, shoulder charging the princess before she could get out a shot. She teleported away before he could follow up, but he did duck underneath a sneak attack from Adora.

“Even with the mighty She-Ra on your side, you stand no chance against the full might of the Horde!” he declared.

“Maybe not the Horde,” said Adora. “But you? I think I can manage!”

As Adora tried for an overhead swing, only for Hordak to catch the sword--in his hand, not bothering to use his blades. “You misunderstand me. I _am_ the Horde.”

He grabbed Adora, pulling her around to block an incoming arrow. It burst into a net, which tangled around her. Hordak then unceremoniously tossed her aside, now focused on the one who fired it. Nobody but him noticed that his palm was damaged from catching the sword.

“I’m really not having the best luck today…” said Bow.

“Guys! Up there!” Steven ran over, pointing skyward. “Hordak’s pet flying goblin thingy! I don’t know how, but I think that’s how he’s predicting your attacks!”

“What? His imp?” said Adora. Glimmer was trying to help her free from the net. “Are you sure?”

“We don’t really have a lot of options right now, so it’s worth a shot!” said Bow. He notched another arrow, preparing to fire it at Imp. He was forced to abort when Hordak fired a blast of energy in his direction, yelping as he dove to the side.

Pearl rushed forwards, clashing her spear against his blades. Adora, now free from the net, lunged at him from behind. He jumped aside just in time, both Pearl and Adora having to redirect their attacks to avoid hitting each other.

“It is as I said: you have no chance of overcoming Entrapta’s creation!” Hordak said, his hand momentarily reaching for the crystal on his chest.

“Entrapta…” Bow said quietly, before regaining his composure. “We have before, and we can again!”

“Perhaps...but you have never faced me before!” Hordak fired a blast from each hand, everyone diving to avoid them. Glimmer, however, warped right beside him.

“Surprise!” She unleashed a sparkly blast into Hordak’s face; he roared when it hit, temporarily blinded. “Adora! Now!”

Adora ran forwards to attack while Hordak was incapacitated. However, Imp noticed her, and thanks to the camera on his collar, so did Hordak. He raised his blades to block her strike, just as he had done before.

This is exactly what Glimmer had anticipated, however. “Now’s your chance, Bow!” she said, teleporting near him. She pointed up towards Imp.

“Okay, here goes nothing!” Bow aimed up and let an arrow fly. With Hordak blinded and Imp focusing on Adora on his behalf, there was nobody to prevent the latter from being covered in green slime, which quickly hardened.

“No!” Hordak immediately disengaged when Imp started falling towards the ground. Glimmer teleported up high to reach him, warping him away closer to the First Ones ship. She placed him on the ground next to it after making sure he couldn’t move.

“I’ve always wanted to be the one to ground someone for a change!” said Glimmer, ignoring Imp’s indignant screeching. She warped back to join the others as he tried chewing his way out.

All Hordak could now see through Imp’s camera was a view of the ship half-covered in slime. He growled, and in his momentarily distracted state, didn’t notice that Adora was prepared to strike until after the fact. His armor sparked once again as the sword collided with his back. He tried to regain his balance despite the discomfort, barely missing her as he swung his blade behind himself.

“Now we have a chance!” Pearl said. She pulled a second spear from her gem, wielding one in each hand. “Don’t let up! Attack!”

Bow was first to act, firing an arrow at Hordak’s feet. It released a cloud of smoke, preventing him from noticing when Adora, Pearl, and Glimmer all charged him at once. While he was able to block Adora’s attack, Pearl and Glimmer got beside him and struck at the same time. Stunned from the impacts, Adora was able to throw Hordak to the ground.

Hordak quickly recovered, getting back to his feet before anyone could follow up. “I will not allow myself to fall so easily!” He tried to summon his energy blade once more, only for it to flicker a few times before disappearing entirely. He tried once again, but aside from a few flashes, it refused to appear. “No...it can’t...not now!” He fired a pair of energy blasts at Adora.

Just before she was hit, Adora transformed the Sword of Protection into a shield, blocking the shots. When Hordak tried to fire more, he was met with only sparks. Letting out an enraged roar, he sprinted towards her.

Hordak threw a punch at Adora, unable to do anything else. His fist collided against her shield, to which she fired a blast of her own from the Runestone in the center. He reeled back, and Pearl struck with both of her spears, causing his armor to spark once again. As the battle went on, it was becoming more and more damaged.

Bow fired an arrow at Hordak’s back, which exploded upon impact. Almost driven to his knees by the blow, he still refused to go down. In response, he charged angrily at Bow, who hastily tried to notch another arrow. He fired, only for Hordak to lean out of the way. He was almost upon him, leaving no time to notch another.

Hordak felt someone grab onto him moments before he reached Bow. “Going somewhere?” Glimmer, with Hordak in tow, teleported the two of them dozens of feet into the air. Pushing herself away from him, she teleported back to the ground, letting gravity do most of the work.

A column of sand shot into the air as Hordak returned to the ground. Everyone was certain that the fight was over. “So...is that it?” asked Steven hesitantly. “Did we win?”

Before anyone could answer, Hordak’s mere appearance told him otherwise. Still standing, he rose out of the small crater, glaring at the princesses.

“You think this means anything?” he growled. “I refuse to--” More sparks. He fell to his knees, coughing.

“It’s over, Hordak.” Adora walked up to him, not letting her guard down. “Give up, while you still can.”

Despite being seemingly in pain, Hordak chuckled. “I will never,” he said. “Not until I am in control of the Horde once again. And nothing you do can stop me!”

“Look at yourself!” Adora said, her voice sounding less firm than before. “You’re falling apart!” Indeed, piece by piece, his armor was beginning to shed itself from his body, revealing his true sickly appearance.

“You know nothing,” he said weakly. “I was once Horde Prime’s greatest general! It will take far more than--” Once again, he was overcome by a coughing fit. Purple liquid dripped to the ground, both from his mouth and his back.

Imp, having freed himself, was quick to fly to his master’s side. He clung to his arm, gently pulling as though trying to get Hordak to stand. He tried to, but fell back down almost immediately. The crystal on the front of his armor fell out of place, landing among the sand and blood.

Steven, Glimmer, and Bow had approached him as well. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Did...did you hurt him too badly?”

“I don’t know,” Adora said. She sounded surprisingly concerned. “I-I’ve never seen him like this…”

The raiders that surrounded them were unsure of what to do. Some of them contemplated leaving then and there, while others debated on whether they should attack him while he was weakened. None of them moved, however.

Adora, like them, didn’t know how to react. She glanced down at her sword, then back over to Hordak. She turned around, pulling the other three into a huddle.

“Okay, I know you aren’t gonna like this,” she said quietly, “and I know it’s gonna sound crazy, but...I think I should heal him.”

“ _Heal_ him? Why?” replied Glimmer. “He was just trying to kill us, remember?”

“I know, but...look at him, Glimmer, he’s dying.” Glimmer looked over at Hordak. She had to admit, even though he had been trying to conquer the planet, seeing someone slowly waste away like this was hard to stomach. “He may be against us, but...”

“...But if we heal him, maybe he’ll help us,” Steven said. “It’s worked for me before. Sometimes. But either way, we can’t just let him die, right?”

“They’re making some good points,” said Bow. “Besides, both of us want to stop Catra, right? This could be good for us!”

Glimmer was quiet for a moment. “Adora...I want you to know that I _don’t_ like this, and I _do_ think you’re crazy...but I also think you should do what you think is right.” Both Steven and Bow nodded in agreement.

“Okay.” Adora took a deep breath, focusing on her sword. “Hordak,” she said after turning around, “We’ve decided that we...want to help you.”

Growing ever weaker, Hordak struggled to look up at her, even for only a second. “Try whatever you like,” he said. “I have tried to fix my decaying body for years, to no avail. Nothing you can do will have any effect.”

Adora held her sword in front of her face. “That’s where you’re wrong,” she said. “At least...I hope so…”

She slowed her breathing. Thoughts of everything Hordak had done swirled around in her mind, which she tried to push away. Instead, she thought of everything that was going on at this time, and all the good having Hordak as an ally instead of an enemy could bring, even after all the bad he had done. Surely nobody, not even Hordak, could be all bad, right? And she truly didn’t want him to die...

A faint blue glow surrounded the sword. The glow surrounded Adora and Hordak as everyone surrounding them looked on in awe, aside from those familiar with the powers of She-Ra. And before their very eyes, Hordak began to change.

His armor fell to the ground in pieces, pulled apart as his sickly body filled out within it. As his emaciated form grew, the scars on his back faded. He got to his feet as he was rejuvenated, made just as healthy as when he was first born--no. Better.

As the last of the armor fell from his back, something else came with it. Where there had once been nothing but scars and metal, a pair of batlike wings extended from Hordak’s shoulder blades. They were a brilliant white color in the bright desert sun.

Soon, the blue glow dissipated. Adora opened her eyes to examine the results. “Oh, wow…” she said. “You, uh, you have wings." She glanced down at Imp. "I mean, I guess that makes sense.”

Of all the people surprised at Hordak’s new appearance--which was just about everyone--none seemed to be more so than Hordak himself. He stared down at his arms, his body, and especially his wings. He reached down, picking up the crystal from the sand. Imp, overjoyed at his master’s survival, flew up to his shoulders while chattering up a storm.

“I…” Hordak seemed to be at a loss for words. He glanced out at all of the people surrounding them, before his eyes settled on Adora. “...Thank you.” He sounded like he truly was grateful.


	15. A Less-Likely Alliance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a team-up with Hordak on the horizon, the Horde shows up at the worst possible time.

Chapter Fifteen: A Less-Likely Alliance

_ _ _

“So, uh...anyone know what to make of this?” asked Huntara. It seemed that nobody did. Indeed, Hordak had just sprouted wings right in front of them--that was enough to make anyone ponder what was happening!

Adora took a step back to examine the results of her handiwork. “You’re...you’re welcome,” she said. Of all the people she thought she would be healing anytime soon, Hordak was not high on that list. And yet here they were. “How do you feel?”

Hordak clenched and unclenched his fist. He spread his new wings. “Better than I ever have,” he said. “I...truth be told, I had no idea I even had wings.”

“I don’t think anybody did…” said Tung Lashor.

“So…” Bow cautiously approached the ex-Horde leader. “Does this mean you’re willing to help us fight back against Catra?”

“No. It means I’m willing to let  _ you _ help  _ me _ retake my place as rightful commander of the Horde,” said Hordak. His thumb absent-mindedly traced across the crystal in his other hand. “But yes, regardless, I will accept your offer of an alliance.”

Glimmer teleported in next to Bow and Adora. “Can I talk to you two for a moment?” She warped all three of them a short distance away. “Okay, so you fixed Hordak. Now what?”

“What do you mean, ‘now what?’” said Adora. “Now we head back to Brightmoon, put a plan together, and stop Catra from doing whatever it is she’s doing!”

“Alright. But once we stop Catra, and Hordak’s back in charge again, what’s to stop him from doing the exact same thing as Catra!?”

“Well, I, um…” Adora stammered. “Okay, admittedly, I haven’t thought this out that far. But between a Horde led by Catra, and one led by Hordak, I think I know which one I’d prefer. You’ve met Catra, Glimmer, you know what she’s capable of!”

Glimmer looked over at Hordak, who seemed to have struck up a conversation with Steven. Or rather, Steven was talking to him, and he was pretending to listen. “Fine,” she sighed. “We’ll take him back to Brightmoon. But I doubt my mom will be happy about this.”

“Nor should she be,” Bow pointed out. “Just because we’re working with Hordak now doesn’t make him one of the good guys.”

“Right, or course not,” said Adora. “But after we’ve been working together for a while, who knows where this could go?” She and the other two returned. “Okay, that settles it: everyone back to Brightmoon!”

“Great!” said Steven. “I was just telling Hordak about how I was able to make peace with the Diamonds. I said if there’s hope for them, there’s hope for him!” Hordak groaned in annoyance, unknown to Steven.

“Where’s Lars, anyway?” said Adora. “Let’s find him so we can start the...ship…?” Adora trailed off as something in the distance caught her eye. Something was kicking up dust, but it was far too small to be a sandstorm. It also seemed to be coming this way. “Does anybody else see that?”

“See what?” asked Steven, turning to look. Spinel did so as well.

“I’m on it.” Bow took out his binoculars, focusing them on the approaching object. “It looks like…”

“Horde skiffs approaching!” Before Bow could give his report, Huntara gave it for him, looking through a pair of binoculars of her own. “I count seven of them, maybe more!”

“Should we get ready for them?” asked Tung Lashor.

“No,” said Hordak. “This is the perfect opportunity to reveal to them that Lord Hordak lives! Let them come.”

The skiffs grew closer, spreading out as they approached. “Everyone, get ready for round two!” said Adora, gripping the hands of her sword.

Glimmer prepared her magic, and Bow notched an arrow. “Steven, come with me,” said Pearl, grabbing his shoulder.

“Huh? Why?” he asked.

“Without your powers, you’re in danger,” she said. “Now come along, we need to get you somewhere safe!” She pulled him away from the crowd just as the skiffs arrived.

Evidently, the Horde was opting for a quick offense, as their first action was to bombard the area with blasts from their stun batons. Some of the skiffs circled around the perimeter while others rushed right in, all of them carpeting the area with projectiles. Any sense of unity the group had before this fell apart, as it was every raider for themself. Formation broke, and chaos ensued.

The Horde troops began disembarking, doing battle with Hordak’s raiders. Nowhere near as disciplined or regimented, the raiders were at a serious disadvantage. Although it seemed to be a losing battle, many of them fought hard nonetheless, most of all Huntara and Tung Lashor.

Several of the Horde troops converged on Adora, hoping to catch her before she could transform. “Adora, look out!” Glimmer teleported behind her, blasting a soldier before they could strike.

A trio of soldiers ran at her from another direction. Before they could get close, Bow fired his arrow; a net burst out, trapping all of them. Bow notched another arrow, ready for any other troopers that came his way.

Hordak looked around at the battle around him. “Enough of this!” Spreading his wings, he took off into the air. This attracted the attention of several nearby fighters, though he wasn’t done yet. He landed atop the ship he and his raiders were using as a makeshift base, spreading his wings as Imp landed on his shoulder. “Warriors of the Horde, hear this! Your rightful master lives!”

Many of the Horde soldiers looked up at him. “It’s Hordak! He’s alive!” one of them said.

“Catra has taken my title, but she has done so behind my back!” he continued. “She has unrightly claimed my place as leader of the Horde! I ask you now: to whom does your loyalty belong? Catra...or me!”

As many of the Horde soldiers seemed to debate this, two members of the new Horde watched from atop a skiff. “Catra, you’re seeing this, right?” said Scorpia. “I mean, Hordak’s alive! What should--”

“I  _ know _ he’s alive!” Catra snapped. “I have eyes!”

“...and he has wings,” said Scorpia. “Huh.”

“It doesn’t matter that he’s alive,” said Catra. She climbed atop the skiff’s mast so that her voice could be better heard. “Yes, Hordak’s alive!” she said. “But where was he all this time? Out here in the desert. He left all of us behind! I stepped up in his place while he abandoned you all! So answer me this: who  _ really _ deserves to run the Horde?”

The divide between the Horde troopers grew even greater. All of a sudden, the silence was broken when a voice rang out. “All hail Lord Hordak!”

It was met in turn with another voice. “All hail Lord Catra!” And then the fighting resumed. The Horde troopers now split into two factions, those loyal to their old master, and those loyal to their new one. Although not happy with this development, Catra was content. Even more so when she heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Catra!”

Oh, this was too easy. Catra turned around, grinning. “Hey, Adora,” she purred. “Just the girl I was looking for!”

“I don’t know what you’re doing in the Crimson Waste,” Adora said, pointing her sword at her old friend, “but I will stop you!”

“Sheesh, all business!” said Catra. “We haven’t seen each other in, what, two years? I thought you’d be a bit happier to see me!”

“Two years, and you really haven’t changed that much,” said Adora. “For the Honor of--Waugh!”

Before she could transform, Catra shot her in the wrist with a stun baton. The Sword of Protection flew out of her hand, and landed several feet behind her. Before she could retrieve it, Catra followed up with a punch to Adora’s stomach.

“Either you got a lot sloppier in that time, or I’ve gotten way better,” Catra said. She kicked Adora in the back, knocking her to the ground. “Probably both, though.”

Adora rolled back onto her feet. “What is it you’re after, Catra?” she said.

“In the long run? I want to prove that I’m the greatest conqueror this planet’s ever known,” said Catra. She stepped back, picking up Adora’s sword. “Short term, though? I’ll settle for this.”

Adora was about to rush Catra, but something caught her ankle. She fell to the ground again, under the effect of Scorpia’s paralyzing venom. Catra walked over, sword in hand, grinning down at her unconscious form.

“I lost the loyalty of a few soldiers, but I got what I came here for,” she said. “Scorpia, get her into the skiff. We’re done here.”

Scorpia lifted Adora off the ground, as she and Catra stepped back into the skiff, heading off back towards the Fright Zone. In the commotion, only one person noticed them leaving, and that Adora was with them.

“Adora!” Glimmer gave chase, warping closer to the skiff. She landed near it, but not quite on it. Landing in the sand, she tried again, this time making it onto the vehicle. “Give her back!”

Scorpia was busy steering, so Catra stepped forward to deal with Glimmer. “Sorry, sparkles, no can do,” she said. “But if you want her so badly, you’re welcome to try and take her!”

Glimmer did just that, letting out a war cry as she thrust her palms forwards. However, rather than a blast of magical energy, she only produced a few sparks. Her magic was drained.

Catra acted before Glimmer could react, whipping out a stun baton. Glimmer was shocked by the green energy, falling to her knees, but not falling off of the skiff as Catra hoped. She approached her to remedy that.

“Aww, sorry princess!” she said. “Looks like Adora’s  _ my _ best friend now. Why don’t you run home to Mommy now?” Catra lifted up her foot and pushed Glimmer off the skiff. She fell to the sand, tumbling to a stop as the skiff, accompanied by several others, raced off into the distance.

Shakily, she got to her feet. Between the shock, the falling off of a moving vehicle, and being out of magic, Glimmer was quite dazed. She tried to concentrate on the retreating skiffs, drawing from every last drop of magic in her. But she was too drained to even teleport a short distance. Exhausted, Glimmer fell back down to the ground.

“Glimmer!” She perked up slightly at Bow’s voice. She looked up to see him and Steven running towards her. Bow knelt down beside her; “Are you okay? What did they do to you!?”

“I’m fine, Bow,” she said. “Just tired. But...they took her.”

“Took...Adora?” said Steven.

“We have to go after her,” said Glimmer. Bow helped her to her feet. “Where is everyone? Did you find Lars? Is his ship ready?”

“Yeah, he’s back at the  _ Sun Incinerator _ ,” said Steven. “Come on, we’ll think of something.” The three of them started walking back towards the others.

“Don’t worry,” said Bow. “We’ll get her back. I know we will.”

“I hope so,” said Glimmer. “She’s the only one who could convince Mom to work with Hordak.” She realized the gravity of the situation. “Oh. We’re gonna have to bring Hordak back with us to Brightmoon, aren’t we? Mom isn’t gonna like this…”

_ _ _

“Absolutely not!”

“But Mom--” Glimmer stammered.

“But nothing!” said Angella. “I don’t know where to begin with you! Not only do you run off into the Crimson Waste against my wishes, putting yourself and others in danger, but you bring back this...this...monster!” She thrust her arm out towards Hordak, who was surrounded by armed guards, their spears pointed at him. The other members of the Princess Alliance stood nearby as well. Hordak didn’t seem to care.

“Mom, think of it like this: we finally captured the leader of the Horde!” said Glimmer. “Well, ex-leader, but that’s beside the point. And now he can help us get Adora back!”

“Adora wouldn’t--” Angella stopped herself. “How can you trust the most dangerous threat Etheria’s ever faced?”

Glimmer looked at Bow for support. “Um...I wouldn’t say he’s the  _ most _ dangerous threat Etheria’s ever faced. There was Skeletor, and Horde Prime, and now Catra’s kind of a thing…” Unbeknownst to him, Hordak was glaring at him.

“Trust me, Mom,” said Glimmer. “I know you don’t like this--I don’t either--but only good can come from this! As long as we keep him on a short leash, we can work together to stop Catra, defeat the Horde, and then Etheria can live in peace!”

“On the contrary--” Hordak began, before being interrupted by an ice spear inches from his face.

“Quiet, prisoner!” shouted Frosta. “I don’t care that you did grow wings, I’ll still stab ya if I have to!”

Hordak raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I wasn’t aware that your Princess Alliance allowed ten-year-olds to join,” he said.

“I’m thirteen!” Frosta said indignantly. “Going on fourteen…” she added under her breath.

Queen Angella brought a hand up to her head. “Glimmer…” she began.

Glimmer cut in. “Adora would have been on my side,” she said.

“I know,” said Angella. “But her absence does not factor into my decision. Hordak will stay here.”

“He will?” Glimmer said.

“Yes. He and all of these...raiders...will stay in Brightmoon, provided they are kept under close watch. Once Adora is rescued and the Horde is gone for good, we will decide what to do with them. Escort our guest to the dungeon.”

“Wait...we have a dungeon?” said Netossa.

“... _ guest room _ ,” said Angella. The guards escorted Hordak to said chamber, making sure neither he nor Imp tried anything funny. Angella stood up from her throne, walking down the stairs to her daughter’s side. “I hope I am not mistaken in trusting your judgement,” she said.

“Don’t worry, Mom, this’ll be fine!” she said. “Have I ever been wrong before?”

The Queen didn’t answer, only glancing down at her daughter. “I’m going to see that the guard is increased,” she announced, walking out the door. “We will discuss strategy when I return.”

“Uh, okay,” Glimmer said, as her mother left. “I’m glad you...saw things my way…” She looked down.

“Glimmer…” Bow placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Glimmer reached up to return the gesture, only to brush his hand aside.

“I’m fine,” she said. “I just need to recharge, is all.” She left the room behind, heading outside towards the Moonstone chamber. Both were technically true: she certainly did need to recharge, and she was fine. No, scratch that--she  _ would _ be fine, she just needed some alone time.

Hearing a voice, Glimmer realized she wasn’t alone in the garden. “Didn’t go so well?” She turned to see Hordak’s huge pink lieutenant sitting on a nearby fountain.

“It’s none of your business how it went,” she said. “Who are you, anyway?”

“Name’s Huntara,” she said, getting up. She seemed to notice Glimmer’s frosty reception, so she didn’t come any closer. “I know you probably don’t trust me, given how I was following Hordak, but trust me...I don’t like him any more than you do.”

“Then why were you following him?” asked Glimmer.

“That’s just how things work in the Crimson Waste,” Huntara said with a shrug. “He beat us, so he got to lead us. Doesn’t mean we wanted to. But hey, we aren’t in the Crimson Waste anymore, are we?”

“So then, why are you helping  _ us _ ?”

“‘Cause I want to. Look, the Horde’s been attacking the Waste for months now, and I’m sick of it! Aside from him being stronger than we were, the only other reason I was working with Hordak was so we could keep the Horde from attacking my home. And with you guys...well, you don’t threaten people to do your dirty work is all I’m saying.”

“Good to know,” Glimmer said, though she didn’t sound particularly glad. “You’ll probably have to take it up with my mom, though.” She turned to leave.

“Oh, yeah, the queen,” said Huntara. “I heard a little bit of that argument back there. Hey, nothing wrong with a few mommy issues.”

Glimmer wheeled around, glaring. “What’s that supposed to mean!?” she snapped. “I do not have mommy issues!”

“Alright, alright, whatever you say,” said Huntara. “I’ve just been in the same boat, so if you...Princess?” Glimmer had already turned to head up the tower to the chamber.

Muttering to herself, Glimmer lay down on the table beneath the Moonstone. She tried to relax as its light washed over her, but there was too much on her mind to do so. She screwed up her face in concentration, until a voice broke it: “Glimmer?”

She sat up. “Mom?”

“Glimmer! I don’t know where to begin with you!” she said. Glimmer looked around, but couldn’t find her mother.

“Mom, what’s going on?” she said. While she didn’t find Angella, she did notice a very interesting sight on the windowsill.

“Glimmer!” Angella’s voice came out of Imp’s mouth. “Glimmer!”

“Augh! Get out of here!” Glimmer shooed the tiny creature away, who cackled as he flew off. Growling, she lay back on the table, hoping a brief rest would fix everything. Everything except Adora, that is...

_ _ _

“Incredible…” said Emerald, looking up at the massive crystal before her. “And you’re certain that these…’rune stones’ are related to Gemkind?”

“Not just related!” said Entrapta. “If my data is correct, which it certainly is, both Gemkind and the Runestones were both created by the First Ones!”

Emerald looked at Entrapta like she had just suggested that Gemkind was created by magical shapeshifting snake people. “‘Created?’ ‘First Ones?’ Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“Sort of, but it varies from moment to moment,” Entrapta said. “Why?”

“Because that’s insane,” Emerald said. “Gemkind was created by the Diamonds. Plain and simple.”

“And who created the Diamonds?”

“I--wh--nobody!” Emerald exclaimed. “They were formed from the virgin energies of the newborn universe! Spawned from the font of creation! As ageless and eternal as existence itself!”

It was Entrapta’s turn to give Emerald a weird look. “...Um...sure. Anyway, why did you want to see this thing again?”

“Isn’t it obvious? My ship was destroyed, my army has no idea what to do, and  _ Lars of the Stars still has the  _ Sun Incinerator!” Emerald shouted. Entrapta was leaning far in the opposite direction. “We need all the help we can get if we want to defeat the Princess Alliance. And  _ I’ll _ need all the help  _ I _ can get to help  _ you _ .”

“Okay, so what does--”

“Entrapta!” The door to the Black Garnet chamber slid open, revealing Catra and Scorpia. The former held the Sword of Protection. “What are you doing in here!?”

“Oh, Hi, Catra!” said Entrapta, giving a friendly wave. “Emerald wanted me to show her the Black Garnet. She thinks we can use its power to--hey, isn’t that Adora’s sword?”

“It is, now get to work,” said Catra, handing over the sword. “This should work as that key you needed. “And you,” she pointed at Emerald. “...do whatever it is you need to do. The princesses have more allies now, so we’ll need all the help we can get.”

“I know,” Emerald said.

“New allies, eh?” Entrapta said, examining the sword. “Who?”

For a moment, Catra froze. Then, slowly, an idea came to her. “I’m sorry, Entrapta.”

“Sorry?” She looked up at Catra. “What for?”

Catra placed a hand on Entrapta’s shoulder. “When we were in the Crimson Waste...we saw Hordak.”

“You did!?” said Entrapta, immediately jumping up out of her seat. “Where was he? Is he okay? Where has he been all this time?” When she noticed Catra’s somber expression, her excitement faltered. “Catra...where is he now?”

“He...he left us,” said Catra. “He was in the Waste all this time, with a new army. By the time we got there, he...joined up with the princesses.”

To say Entrapta looked crestfallen would have been an understatement. “Hordak…” she said. “No, he...he wouldn’t just leave us! The princesses must have captured him or something! We have to save him!”

“All the more reason to finish working on that portal,” Catra said, leading Entrapta out of the room with a comforting arm around her shoulder. “We’ll get him back, don’t worry.” As the two left, Catra glanced back at Emerald. The two met eyes as the door closed.

Emerald looked back up at the crystal when Scorpia nudged her, much to her annoyance. “So, the Black Garnet, huh? Y’know, it used to belong to my family before the Horde showed up. In theory, I should still have some sort of connection to it, isn’t that cool? Just in theory, though.”

Emerald gave Scorpia a quizzical glance. “Is that so?”


	16. Meanwhile, Back on Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While waiting for Emerald to make her move, Connie and the B-Team receive an unexpected visitor.

Chapter Sixteen: Meanwhile, Back on Earth

_ _ _

Since Gems didn’t need to sleep, Jasper wasn’t asleep that evening. Instead, she was deep in thought, her mind racing over nothing in particular. So, instead of being awoken by the loud noise above her, she was simply distracted. Her eyes snapped open, and she irritably trudged out of her cave to see what the deal was.

A ship of Gem build descended from above the trees, landing in a nearby clearing. Jasper wondered what exactly Homeworld was doing here, of all places: was it her they were interested in? If that was the case, why had they only just come here now? She decided to go and investigate. It wasn’t like sitting in a cave all day was doing her any favors.

By the time she had arrived at the landing site, the ship had already landed, and two Gems had disembarked: an Amethyst and a Citrine. They looked off into the distance, seeming to be searching for something. As they talked, Jasper walked closer.

“It’s about time someone showed up for me!” said Jasper, much to the surprise of the other two Quartzes. “What, were the Diamonds too busy fawning over Steven to send someone earlier?”

The Quartzes’ reaction to the ultimate Quartz was not one Jasper predicted. “Beat it, Crystal Gem!” snapped the Citrine. “We’re busy looking for Steven Universe!”

Crystal...Gem? “What did you just call me?” said Jasper, taken aback.

“You heard us,” said the Amethyst. “Go on, run back to your ‘little Homeworld,’ or whatever you call it.”

“Do you...have any idea who I am?” said Jasper, stepping closer. The other two looked more irritated than curious. She decided to inform them. “I am Jasper! Champion of Pink Diamond, scourge of the Crystal Gems! During the war for Earth, I tore this planet apart as I--”

“Yeah-yeah-yeah, we don’t really care about your old war stories, ‘Champion,’” said the Citrine. “If you’re not gonna tell us where your pal Steven is, just get lost!”

“And I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Diamonds aren’t in charge no more,” said the Amethyst. “We don’t have to do anything we say. So we don’t. We don’t even respect them anymore! Not White, not Yellow, not Blue, and  _ especially _ not Pink!”

Jasper’s pupils dilated. “What was that?” she said calmly.

_ _ _

“Lapis! Come quick!” Peridot called out to the blue Gem, who quickly flew over to her location. The smaller of the two was standing out on the deck of Steven’s house, looking through a cobbled-together telescope up into the sky filled with Gem ships.

“What? What’s the matter?” said Lapis, sounding worried. “Is it Steven? Is he in trouble?”

“No, worse!” said Peridot. “Emerald’s forces are beginning their attack! Look!” She gestured for Lapis to look through the telescope, which she quickly did.

After a few moments of looking into the night sky, Lapis spoke up. “Uh, Peridot?” she said. “...That’s a meteor shower.”

“What? No it’s not!” Peridot pushed her way back over to the eyepiece to get another look. “I’m certain those are her battleships entering the atmosphere! Look at the way they curve as they fly downwards!”

“...Like a meteor,” Lapis said.

The door behind them opened, and Connie stepped out. “What’s happening out here?” she asked.

“Nothing. Peridot’s just being Peri-noid,” said Lapis, grinning at her own wordplay.

“Am not!” said Peridot. “Connie, you’re a genius--surely you can tell the difference between a meteor shower and invading enemy forces!”

“Well, I dunno about a ‘genius,’ but I can take a look,” Connie said. She looked through the eyepiece as Lapis had. “...Yyyyup, meteor shower,” she said after a few moments.

Lapis shot a glance down at Peridot, who pouted. “I guess we thwarted that invasion,” Lapis said, as Peridot muttered under her breath.

Their party was increased to four, as Bismuth poked her head out the door. “What’s this about a meteor shower?” she asked.

“Nothing,” said Lapis. “Just Peridot being Peri-noid, as usual.”

“I am not being Peri-n--I mean paranoid!” she shouted. “Our enemies are hovering right over our heads, I think a little caution is warranted! When the next ‘meteor shower’ turns out to be a barrage of proton missiles, you’ll thank me for being so--”

Peridot’s train of thought was interrupted when a shadow fell over the house. Seeing that Connie, Lapis, and Bismuth were all looking up at the sky with worried expressions, Peridot turned around to do the same. It was apparent that their worry was warranted: a Gem ship hovered above them. It was black in color, and shaped like a flying saucer.

“...So, is that one a meteor shower, too?” asked Peridot.

“It  _ could _ be,” said Bismuth. “It’s still too early to say…”

A door on the front of the ship slid open, the inside glowing with a dim blue light. A figure illuminated by the light leapt down onto the sand below, followed by another, and another. Connie recognized some of the Gems--there were Quartzes, Rubies, Peridots, even a Zircon--but there were several she didn’t. The last one down she knew all too well, however: her landing causing an eruption of sand, she recognized the familiar shape of a Topaz fusion. The same one that had almost kidnapped her years before.

“So…” said Bismuth. “What do you think the odds are they’re here to help us with our Emerald situation?”

“Not high,” said Lapis, cracking her knuckles.

From the collection of Gems down below came a single voice. “Well well well, you must all be Steven’s new friends! A pleasure to meet you, it is!” The Gem in question appeared from behind Topaz, flying up to the others’ level with her four wings. She was small, smaller even than Peridot, and was both red and blue in color. “The name’s Azurite, Bluebird Azurite!”

“Connie,” said Connie. “But I take it you knew that already. Why are you here?”

“Oh, no reason, really,” said Bluebird Azurite. “Just here to see an old friend of mine. You wouldn’t happen to know where he is, would you?” She grinned maliciously.

“And why would we tell you?” said Peridot.

Bluebird tittered. “Because we outnumber you five to one, of course!” She turned back to the other Gems beneath her. “Emerald put this team together for a reason, isn’t that right, girls?” The other Gems all cheered--except for Topaz. “You see, Steven getting the Diamonds to step down was the worst thing that ever happened to Homeworld! All of us were perfectly fine until he came along--he ruined our lives! We’re just here to  _ return the favor… _ ”

“Alright, I’ve heard enough,” said Lapis. She raised her hand, and a pillar of water rose up from the nearby ocean. Forming it into a fist as the enemy Gems stared up at it, Lapis slammed it down on the ship, causing it to crash into the sand. The Gems were scattered by the impact, but most of them were still in fighting shape.

Bluebird glared at the four of them, falling back to join the rest of her troops. “Get them!” she shouted. The others began climbing up the stairs towards them.

“Grab your sword, we’re goin’ in!” Bismuth shouted to Connie, bulldozing her way through several of the incoming Gems. Connie was about to do so, but Bluebird suddenly rushed in, tackling her through the door. She quickly got to her feet, facing the fusion.

“You know, we were just here for Steven, but now that I think about it, we’re not very fond of you, either!” said Bluebird. She reached up to the Gem by her eye, pulling out a saber. “And if we can’t kill  _ him _ , you’ll just have to do!”

“Good luck with that!” said Connie. She brought her hand to her mouth, whistling. Bluebird suddenly found herself blown back by a powerful wave of sound coming from a nearby roar. Lion ran down the staircase, coming to a stop by Connie’s side. She reached into his mane, pulling out her own sword.

Bluebird stood up. “Okay, alright, I guess that seems fair.” She spread her wings, taking to the air again, holding her saber imposingly. “But we won’t make the same mistake twice!”

The fusion lunged at Connie, who blocked their sword with hers. When the blades met, ice crystals began to spread across Connie’s sword. Lion lunged, only for Bluebird to roll to the side underneath him. With another swing of her saber, she launched several shards of ice towards him, which froze him to the wall.

Connie ran over to free Lion, but Bluebird flew in front of her. The pair clashed blades again, as Lion tried to gnaw through the ice. Bluebird was fast, but so was Connie, despite the size of her sword. After a few moments of clashing, she flew back, perching on Lion’s immobile back.

“You’re pretty good at this, for a human!” she said.

“And you’re pretty good for a pipsqueak,” said Connie.

“So why don’t we try something new?” Bluebird flew up into the air, diving down with saber extended. She drove the blade into the floor, causing ice to spread all over the house. Connie jumped out of the way as frozen pillars erupted from the floor, coating the floor and walls with ice. Bluebird pulled another saber from her gem. “Now we’re getting somewhere!” She flew at Connie again.

Connie blocked her strike, following up with a downward slash, which Bluebird sidestepped. She thrust her saber at Connie, who dodged, kicking Bluebird in the chest. The fusion stumbled backwards, but took to the air again, following up with an overhead strike. Connie leapt back away from the slash.

“I get that you’re mad, but is coming after me and Steven really the most constructive method of dealing with your problems?” Connie asked.

“Eh, probably not,” Bluebird admitted. “It is the most fun way, though!”

“Should’ve guessed,” Connie said. “Well, if you’re having fun, I might as well have some, too.” She then flipped her sword so that she was holding it backwards, before spinning around, and using the momentum to hurl it towards her opponent. “Boomerang blade!”

Bluebird simply flew over the thrown weapon, but it flew to the other side of the room, hitting the ice holding Lion. It hit just hard enough to crack the ice, allowing the lion to free himself, and make his way beside Connie, growling at Bluebird.

“Hmm,” said the Azurite. “Y’know, now that I think about it, I probably should have--”

Lion let loose a sonic roar, blasting Bluebird through the same door she had tackled Connie through, back out onto the beach. Lion, with Connie on his back, bounded out the door after her. Unfazed, Bluebird flew towards them to continue their fight.

Meanwhile, the beach was already the site of quite a sizable battle. The rest of Bluebird’s acquaintances were not ones to go quietly, even when faced with a Lapis Lazuli. She was able to quickly wash away some of the weaker ones, but the heavier hitters kept coming. She fought mainly to protect Peridot, who hurled metal at their enemies when she could, but mostly just hung back.

Bismuth was all over the front lines, making short work of the enemy Gems. “ _ Ha _ ! I haven’t had a good fight like this in ages! You think you can take me!? Come on, show me what you got!” Bismuth had no weapons or unique powers, but her arms were all she needed, sending Gems flying with her punches.

All of that changed, however, when a large yellow Gem made her appearance. Even bigger than Bismuth, who had been the biggest Gem around just moments ago, the Topaz fusion stomped forward, no emotion on her face.

“You’re pretty big, huh?” said Bismuth, preparing to throw another punch. “But the bigger they are, the harder they--” Bismuth’s fist collided with Topaz...who didn’t budge an inch. “...Huh. That, uh, usually works.”

Topaz summoned a pair of clubs, one from each of her gems. With a single swing, Bismuth was launched into the air, landing hard in the sand several meters away. Topaz moved in to finish the job.

Spitting out sand, Bismuth pulled herself out of her crater. “The bigger they are, the harder they hit, I guess! No biggie, we’ll just try this again.” She shapeshifted both of her hands into giant hammers. “Come get some!”

Topaz and Bismuth met once more, each swinging both of their respective weapons. The impact created a burst of wind, blowing sand in all directions. Each of them swung at the other relentlessly; Bismuth, despite her size, was nimble enough to dodge most of Topaz’s strikes, while Topaz merely stood against Bismuth’s. Eventually, Bismuth switched tactics, swapping out her hammers for a pair of blades. Topaz blocked her first strike, locking the pair of them in a struggle.

“You don’t really talk much, do you?” said Bismuth. Topaz didn’t respond. “Hey, that’s fine, I can do all the--” Topaz broke out of the struggle, responding with a double uppercut with her clubs. Bismuth staggered backwards, holding her chin; “Argh, ffffffresh heck, that was a bad one!”

“I’m sorry,” Topaz said quietly.

Bismuth looked up at her, confused. “Say what? Y-you said...you’re sorry?”

Topaz nodded. “I’m only here because Aquamarine is making me.” She then combined both of her clubs into a single double-edged one. “I’m sorry about this.”

“Hey, it’s no big--Woah!” Bismuth ducked under Topaz’s strike, falling back to a safe distance. “But you don’t have to listen to her anymore, you know. That’s what Era-3’s all about!”

After a brief glance over at Bluebird Azurite, who was still fighting Connie, Topaz looked back at Bismuth with pleading eyes. “I can’t,” she said. “I’m...scared. Of what she’ll do. She’ll separate my component Gems!”

“Heh, she can try!” said Bismuth. Her body language changed completely, from defensive to inviting. “You can always stay here if you want--nobody in Little Homeworld would try to separate you!”

“I don’t really--” Before Topaz could answer, she and Bismuth were interrupted when a Citrine was hurled by them, crashing against the cliffside hard enough to poof. Both of them looked around in confusion, wondering where she had come from.

“Hey, good through, Lapis!” Bismuth called.

Lapis turned around. “Huh? That wasn’t me,” she said.

“If she didn’t...” Bismuth looked into the distance. “Then who…” Her eyes settled on the culprit, who was making her way over to the beach. “...oh. That’s probably not good.”

Jasper stomped through the sand, angrily glaring at every Gem before her. “WHO’S NEXT!?” she roared.

Instantly, the fighting stopped. Everyone present turned to face her. A silence of both fear and awe washed over Bluebird’s Gems, as well as Bluebird herself. Many of them took several cautious steps back.

“Listen up, you traitorous, classless, off-colored, sorry excuses for Homeworld forces!” Jasper bellowed. As she stepped forwards, the Gems in her way stepped aside. “Which one of you is in charge?”

Bluebird began to glow. Where she stood moments prior, now stood a pair of Gems, an Aquamarine and a Ruby. “Jasper!” shouted the latter, excitedly running towards her, as the former tried to stop her.

“Wait…” said Peridot. “Bluebird Azurite was Aquamarine and Eyeball this whole time!?” Lapis rolled her eyes.

The Ruby known as Eyeball ran up to Jasper, as the Quartz stared down at her with a mixture of disdain and curiosity. “Jasper, Jasper, it’s me! I’m your biggest fan! D-do you remember me!?”

“Vaguely,” Jasper said. “Weren’t you that Ruby from back during the war?”

“Yes, that was me!” Eyeball shouted. She saluted Jasper. “Ruby Facet 1F4 Cut 4ND, at your service!”

“Ruby!” Aquamarine chided. “We’re not here to socialize with Homeworld’s corrupted rejects!”

“But--” Eyeball tried to protest. Jasper cut her off when she stepped past her.

“So,” Jasper said, walking towards Aquamarine, “I take it you’re the boss?”

“You take right!” Aquamarine said. “Wait...that doesn’t--nevermind!” She looked around at her troops. “What are you all waiting for!? Get her!”

But none of them moved. All of them, even the newer ones, knew all too well who Jasper was and what she was capable of. They refused to budge.

Jasper let out a small chuckle. “No takers, huh?” She pounded her fist into her open palm. “Guess it’s just the two of us, then!”

“Uh…” Aquamarine looked around fearfully. “Okay, new plan: everyone back to the ship!” She and the other Gems quickly hurried to the vessel, which began to lift up out of the sand.

Aquamarine picked Eyeball up, carrying her up to the door. “Wait, we--” she tried to protest.

“No time!” Aquamarine said, depositing her inside. She looked around, scanning for anyone she had missed: she found only one. “Topaz! Get up here!”

Topaz, still down on the ground, only mumbled something, her eyes staring downwards.

“What was that?” said Aquamarine. “Get up here now, or we’re leaving you behind!”

“I...I don’t want to…” Topaz said quietly.

“What!?” said Aquamarine.

“I said I don’t want to!” Topaz shouted. “I-I only went along with you because you  _ made _ me! But now I...I want to stay here, on Earth!”

Aquamarine glared down at her. “Fine, then.” The door to the sip slid closed. It lifted up into the sky, blasting off into the distance. The beach was silent once more.

Lapis relaxed, letting go of some water hands she still had up. “Well then,” she said. “That went pretty well, all things considered. Everyone okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” said Connie, placing her sword back in Lion’s mane. “Just another Gem trying to kill me. Same old, same old.”

“Doin’ pretty good over here!” said Bismuth. “Looks like Little Homeworld just got another resident!” She walked up to Topaz, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Hey. I don’t know if you’re ready, but if you ever wanted to join the Crystal Gems, there’s always a place here for ya!”

Topaz smiled. “T-thanks,” she said. “I...I’ll think about it.”

Peridot, meanwhile, made her way up to Jasper. “Hey, Jasper! Thanks for helping us fight off those rogue Gems!”

Jasper scoffed. “I wasn’t helping  _ you _ . Those Gems came to me, badmouthed Pink Diamond, and insulted me to my face--I was just getting even.”

“Oh. Well...thanks anyway!” said Peridot, running back to the house, accompanied by Connie and Lapis. Topaz joined them as well. Jasper turned to leave, but felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” said Bismuth. “I don’t know if you’re ready, but--”

“Don’t bother,” Jasper growled, pushing off her hand and walking away. Bismuth shrugged, turning to join the others.

_ _ _

“So, uh…” said Scorpia. She currently found herself tangled up in countless wires that connected her to the Black Garnet, and many more that connected her to some other unseen piece of machinery. “What’s the plan here, Em?”

Nearby, Emerald leaned over a nearby computer terminal, pouring over data gathered by Entrapta when she had last interfaced with the Runestone. She had even managed to dig up some of Shadow Weaver’s notes from when she managed to siphon it’s power. “Don’t call me ‘Em,’” she said. “And I’m using you to power my latest weapon.”

“Oh,” said Scorpia. “So...what’s the Black Garnet for?”

Emerald groaned. “Why me?” she said quietly, before regaining her composure. “The Black Garnet is an extremely potent energy source. Because you have an untapped connection to it, I am using you as a conduit to funnel its power into my aforementioned weapon.”

“You mean…” Scorpia looked at her reflection in the giant red crystal. “...I have a connection with the Black Garnet?” She reached out a claw, almost touching it’s surface.

“Dah-ah-ah, don’t touch it!” snapped Emerald. “There is painstaking research and development going on here, you’re going to throw off all of my data!”

Scorpia went back to sitting in her chair, her claws in her lap. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Um, if I can ask, what sort of weapon are you building?”

“Simple, really,” said Emerald. “Lars of the Stars stole my favorite ship, and crashed my other ship, so I’m building one he can’t do either to!” She turned to the adjacent room, where the power taken from the Black Garnet was going. “Using the destroyed husk of my  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , I have created the ultimate in airborne and spaceborne warfare! I call it...the  _ Destiny Destroyer mk. II _ ! But for brevity’s sake, I’ll just call it the plain old  _ Destiny Destroyer _ .

“...Huh. Neat,” said Scorpia.


	17. Before the Breach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both the Rebellion and the Horde prepare for battle.

Chapter Seventeen: Before the Breach

_ _ _

“Hey Adora.”

Adora lifted her head as the door slid open, bringing a little bit of light into the otherwise darkened room. She was on her knees, her arms bound above her head. As she looked, she could see a silhouetted figure enter the room. “What do you want, Catra?” she said.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” All that Adora could see of Catra was her glowing eyes, but she could tell from her tone of voice that she was grinning.

“Uh, yeah, I would. That’s why I asked.”

As Catra stepped closer, Adora could see her smug smile. “Well, since you asked nicely,” she said. “Do you remember, back before all of this started? Before you found that sword? We told each other that we were going to rule this planet. Just the two of us, together.” She looked at Adora with disappointment. “What happened to that, Adora?”

Adora sighed. “People change, Catra,” she said. She looked up into her old friend’s eyes. “You can change, too.”

“Maybe I don’t  _ want _ to change,” Catra said coldly. “Actually, scratch that. I do, just not in the way you’re thinking.” She turned away from her captive. “I’m going bigger. I’m  _ Lord _ Catra now. This planet isn’t big enough for me anymore. Do you get it?”

“I don’t think I do,” Adora said. “If you don’t want to rule Etheria, then what do--”

“The universe, dummy!” shouted Catra. “I’m talking about ruling the universe, just like the Gems! Just like Horde Prime!”

“Catra...what are you talking about? Where is this coming from?” asked Adora, almost in disbelief. “What do--”

“Where do you think  _ this _ is coming from!?” Catra snapped. “You were always the one at the top, Shadow Weaver’s star student! Did you ever stop and think that maybe I wanted to be at the top for once? For once in my life, I want to be the one in control!”

“By invading other worlds?” said Adora.

“...Yes!” Catra yelled, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “What did you think the Horde’s been doing for the past few decades!? But now that I’m the one calling the shots...me and my new friends aren’t limiting ourselves to just one planet.”

“Catra…” Adora tried to think of something, anything, she could say to make her friend see reason. But ever since she had found the sword, seeing reason was something Catra had struggled with. “I’m going to stop you.  _ We’re _ going to stop you. You know that, right?”

Although her expression barely changed, Adora could feel the disappointment radiating off of Catra. “I knew you wouldn’t understand,” she said, averting her eyes. “You never understood. I don’t know why I hoped you would this time.” She turned away, heading for the door.

“Wait, Catra!” Adora called after her. “It isn’t too late to stop this!”

Catra scoffed. She turned around, her eyes meeting Adora’s. “Stop? I’m doing this for us, Adora. You’re the one who decided to run away from this, not me. It’s not too late for  _ you _ to join  _ me _ . Let me know if you come to your senses.”

The door closed behind Catra as she left the room, once again surrounding Adora in darkness. She groaned as her head dropped, once again unable to get through to her old friend. She may not have known exactly what Catra was planning, but it had to involve her sword. And without it, there wasn’t much she could do to get herself out of here.

Except that wasn’t exactly true. Gritting her teeth and getting to her feet, Adora pulled on her restraints, searching for weaknesses in the bindings. Even if her friends were coming for her--which she knew they were--she could still get herself out of this. It just might take a little while…

_ _ _

Glimmer, Steven, and Lars stood beside each other right outside Castle Brightmoon’s guest room, where Hordak was currently being held. They stood there for a little while; though they all knew what the plan was, each of them was a little reluctant to go through with it.

Everyone knew what the situation was: the Horde was holding Adora prisoner, and were no doubt planning their attack at that very moment. But while Queen Angella wanted to exercise caution, Glimmer wanted to attack the problem at the source, and get her friend back as soon as possible. She couldn’t afford to wait. And neither could Adora.

It was Lars who spoke first. “So...are we sure we can trust this guy?” he said. “I mean, he was a bad guy up until pretty recently.”

“So was Peridot back when we teamed up,” said Steven. “This isn’t really that different: we both have the same goal, and working together is the best way to accomplish that. I’m sure Hordak feels the same way.”

“We can hope,” said Glimmer. “Just let me do most of the talking, okay?” She stepped forward to open the door, leading the three inside.

Within the guest room, Hordak had been sealed behind a magical barrier, courtesy of Castaspella. Other than that, the room itself didn’t seem to be much of a prison, as it was just as luxurious as any other room in the castle. The prisoner himself didn’t mind much either, sitting in a chair and reading as the trio entered. “I was wondering how long it would take you to arrive,” he said, not looking up from his book.

“Right,” Glimmer said quietly. She walked up to the barrier, so that the two of them were mere inches apart. “Hordak. I assume you know why we’re here?”

“I know why  _ you’re _ here,” he said. He gestured to Steven and Lars. “Them, not so much.”

“We’re Adora’s friends, too,” said Lars. “And we’re not just gonna sit around while Catra has her!”

“That’s right,” added Steven. “We have to rescue her. But we need your help to do it.”

Hordak glanced up, looking behind the three of them. “I don’t suppose the queen knows about this?” he asked.

“Not...not exactly,” Glimmer admitted. “She said that rushing in before we know what the Horde is planning could put Adora in even more danger. But she’s already been kidnapped, she’s in as much danger right now as she could be! So no, she doesn’t exactly know about this. But we aren’t exactly  _ asking _ for your help.”

“I didn’t think so,” Hordak said. “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes,” said Lars. “Go in guns-blazing, knock Catra down a few pegs, and bring Adora back before Angella even knows we’re gone!”

Hordak looked at him in exasperation. “That isn’t a plan, that’s a general outline. If you really want to rescue your friend, and return me to my throne in the process, you’ll need something better.”

“Well, do  _ you _ have something better?” asked Steven.

Hordak turned to face him, leaning closer to the barrier. “I assume you’re the one called Steven? I don’t believe we’ve formally met. How goes your search for that mysterious sword?”

Steven, taken aback, took a step backwards. “H-how did you…?”

“Wait...wait, what sword? No, come back…” Steven’s voice descended down from the darkened ceiling. It was followed not long after by the one copying it, as Imp flew down from above, landing on a nearby windowsill, cackling at Steven’s reaction.

“Nightmares,” Hordak said.

“I...Okay, I’ve been having some weird dreams, but I have no idea what they mean. I don’t even know what sword he’s talking about!”

“Maybe he means Adora’s sword,” suggested Lars. “Catra probably has that too. Maybe this guy in your dreams is telling you to go save her?”

“Could be,” Steven said with a shrug.

“Dreams or not, it doesn’t change the fact that Adora’s in danger,” Glimmer said, turning back to Hordak. “Like it or not, we’ll need to work together to get what we want. You help us save Adora, and we’ll...consider putting you back in charge. But only if you prove yourself to be less of a threat than Catra!”

Hordak growled, but seemed to accept this. “Very well. You there, Lars. You have a ship, correct?”

“That I do,” said Lars.

“Good. We’ll need to attack from the air if we want any chance; it is the only thing the Fright Zone isn’t fortified against. Now, set me free, and gather the other members of your little rebellion.” He turned away from them, facing in the direction of the Fright Zone. “It’s time I took back what is rightfully mine…”

_ _ _

“These energy readings are...they’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen before!” said Entrapta, as the screen before her lit up with massive numbers. “You were right, Catra, this sword was just what we needed to get this portal working!”

Catra, Entrapta, Scorpia, and Emerald all stood before the completed portal. A Peridot, one of Emerald’s lackeys, worked on an unrelated device at the other end of the room. “I knew it would,” Catra said, grinning. “How long until we can get it up and running?”

Entrapta double-checked the data. “Should be only a few hours now,” she said. “Aah, this is so exciting! Aren’t you all excited? We’ll finally be able to explore the world outside of Despondos!”

“Um...not to rain on your parade, Entrapta, but didn’t we already do that?” said Scorpia. “On two separate occasions?”

“Oh. True…” Entrapta said. “But this time, it’ll be on our own terms! We won’t have to be bound by the limits of inferior technology anymore: with this First Ones/Gem tech combination, the whole universe will be ours to discover!”

“And to conquer,” added Catra. Emerald grinned.

“Speaking of which, I’d like to think that this party is almost ready to begin,” Emerald said. She turned to face the other gem. “Peridot! Is that communicator almost ready!?”

“Just about, My Emerald!” replied the Peridot. “I just need to...Ah! There it is! Ready to broadcast, My Emerald!”

“Excellent! Contact the fleet--soon enough, this planet will fall, and Lars of the Stars will be nothing more than dust beneath my heel!” She walked over just as Entrapta noticed a fluctuation in power in the portal.

“Hmm. That’s odd,” she said.

Scorpia leaned in over her shoulder. “Odd how?”

“The First Ones tech and the Gem tech...they should be meshing perfectly, but it’s almost like they’re rejecting each other. Like two magnets with the same polarity.”

“Is that going to be a problem?” Catra asked.

“Not in its current state,” Entrapta said. “As it is, it’s just a subtle push, like--”  
“Good, said Catra. “Keep it that way. I don’t want anything delaying this. I’d prefer to be out of here before the rest of Adora’s ‘friends’ arrive.

Emerald returned. “Oh, I don’t think we’ll have to worry about them!” she said, sneering.

“And why not?” Catra asked.

“Because I’ve just called for every reinforcement I have,” Emerald said. “The Rebellion doesn’t stand a chance--in fact, I think it’s time we took the fight to them!”

_ _ _

The silence was shattered as Peridot burst in through Steven’s front door. “Everyone, quick, get out here! You need to see this!”

Of the three inside, only Lapis looked up. “Is it another meteor shower?” she asked.

“Oh,  _ ha-ha _ !” said Peridot. “Seriously, get out here right now! This is bad, really bad!”

“Woah, easy there, little buddy!” said Bismuth. “What exactly is going on out there?”

“The ships, they’re leaving!” Peridot exclaimed.

“Isn’t that...a good thing?” said Connie. “They’re leaving Earth alone, right?”

“Yes. And they’re  _ heading for Etheria _ !” exclaimed Peridot.

“Wait, what!?” Bismuth stood up, hurrying over. “Show me!”

“ _ Thank _ you! Finally, someone gets it!” Peridot said. She led Bismuth outside to the telescope, with Connie, Lapis, and Topaz following. She brought them over to the telescope, but they didn’t need it to see the collection of Gem warships conveigning towards the lone light in the sky. “See?”

Bismuth was the first to look through the telescope. “Woah…” she murmured. “Yup, they’re heading there, alright.”

“So, um...what does this mean?” asked Topaz.

“Nothing good, that’s for sure,” said Lapis.

“I’ll tell you what it means,” said Connie. “It means Emerald’s up to something big.”

“There has to be something we can do,” said Peridot. “Some way we can warn them…”

Connie looked at Peridot, then at Lion, and then back to Peridot. The others joined her in staring at the small Gem.

“...What?”


	18. Skies over the Fright Zone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lars runs into an old friend as the heroes' attack on the Fright Zone begins.

Chapter Eighteen: Skies over the Fright Zone

_ _ _

“Glimmer?” Queen Angella made her way up to her daughter’s room, having not heard from the girl in several hours. “We’re about to discuss strategy. If we are to invade the Fright Zone and rescue Adora, we will need your--” Curiously, the door to Glimmer’s bedroom was left ajar. Angella peered inside, already concerned.

Sure enough, the room was completely empty. Angella entered, scanning the corners to make sure she hadn’t missed Glimmer somewhere. She hadn’t seen her leave--had she gone out the window?

Angella peered outside through the glass. There was no sign of Glimmer or any of her friends. There was, however, the sound of a ship’s thrusters off in the distance. “No…” The shape of the  _ Sun Incinerator _ rounded the corner of Brightmoon, headed off towards the Fright Zone. “Glimmer, no!”

Angella opened the window, flying after the ship, but it was too fast. The ship, no doubt carrying Glimmer and the others, sped off into the distance, towards a mission that was much too dangerous. Especially now that Hordak was among them.

_ _ _

“Alright, we should arrive at the Fright Zone in a few minutes,” Lars announced. “What then?”

“Wait,” Hordak said. “Land just before we arrive. For this plan to work, we will need to split into two groups.”

“Speaking of ‘this plan,’ would you mind telling us what ‘this plan’ even is?” said Mermista. “Because all we have so far is ‘rescue Adora.’ That’s not much of a plan, that’s more of a general outline.”

“That’s what Hordak said,” said Steven. Because his powers were still gone, he had equipped himself with a shield from the Brightmoon armory. “Don’t worry, I’m sure he has something!” In addition to Lars and his crew, Steven, Glimmer, Bow, Pearl, Hordak, Perfuma, Mermista, Frosta, and Hordak’s two lieutenants were present.

“Indeed,” added Hordak. “Rescuing your friend and regaining control of my base will require a diversion. And that is where this ship comes in.”

“We’re all ears,” said Lars.

“In the years since my...disappearance, Catra has heavily bolstered the Horde’s armies by repairing Horde Prime’s troops. I have no doubt that the Fright Zone will be heavily guarded by cybertanks and cybercolossi. Lars, you will need to distract these defenses while I lead my team inside.”

“Okay, I think we can manage that,” Lars said. “What do you guys think?”

“We’ve got this, Captain!” said the Rutile twins.

“Nooo proooblem!” said Fluorite.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine!” said Rhodonite.

“Let’s take off!” said Padparadscha.

“Good,” said Hordak. “My strike team will consist of the princesses, as well as Bow, Steven, and Pearl. We will--”

“Hang on,” said Bow. He took out his tracker pad. “I think I should stay on the ship. I can get better scans of the Fright Zone from the sky. That way, I can warn you if I detect anything out of the ordinary. Here…” He produced an earpiece from his pocket, handing it to Glimmer.

Glimmer, however, refused the device. “Bow, if you’re staying here, then so am I.”

“What?” said Bow. “But Glimmer, what about Adora? If we’re going to rescue her, don’t you want to be there?”

“I trust everyone to bring her back,” Glimmer said. “ _ And _ to make sure Hordak doesn’t try anything funny.”

“You can count on us!” said Frost. “...on both counts!”

Bow handed the earpiece to Steven instead. “I guess you’ll be our communications officer, then.”

Steven took the earpiece, fitting it into place. “Huh, fits pretty good,” he said. “Okay, I think we’re almost there. Now we should--”

Steven was interrupted by a clattering noise from behind. Everyone turned in the direction of the sound, many of them on their guard, fearing they had been boarded. “What was that?” asked Rhodonite.

“Probably nothing good,” said Pearl, summoning her spear just in case. She slowly approached a stack of crates in the corner, prepared to strike. She reached down, moved one of the crates out of the way...and was greeted by the sight of three stowaways.

“Spinel!?” exclaimed Steven. “What are you doing here? I told you to wait back at Brightmoon!”

“I know, I know!” Spinel, accompanied by Garnet and Amethyst, stood up. “But I couldn’t just sit around while you went off to save the day!”

“Spinel, this is going to be dangerous!” Steven continued. “I don’t want you getting hurt!”

“And I don’t want to be left behind again!” Anger flashed across Spinel’s face, but it lasted only briefly. A short silence followed, which was eventually broken by Lars.

“I mean, we can still turn around if you--” he said, but was cut off.

“No, it’s too late now,” said Steven, sounding slightly annoyed. “We’ll just have to bring them along.”

“Yay!” Spinel ran over, wrapping her arms around Steven. “Thanks, best friend!” Steven only grimaced.

_ _ _

Steven, Pearl, Hordak, Perfuma, Mermista, Frosta, Huntara, and Tung Lashor disembarked, accompanied by Spinel, Garnet, and Amethyst. “Okay, do you all know what to do?”

“Relax. I am leading this team,” said Hordak. “As long as Lars performs his task as planned, this will be a successful mission.”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” said Bow, returning back onto the ship.

“Good luck up there, you guys!” called Steven.

“Right back at ya!” Lars called back, before the door closed, and the  _ Sun Incinerator _ took off towards their destination.

Glimmer glanced back at them as the ship sped off. “I hope Hordak knows what he’s doing,” she said.

“I’m sure he does,” said Lars. “I mean, he probably wouldn’t have conquered your planet if he didn’t!...Okay, that came out way less reassuring than I meant it to.”

After a short flight, the Fright Zone came into view. It definitely looked better-defended than the last time they had seen it. “What’s the plan, Lars?” asked one of the Rutiles.

“The plan? Be as loud and as visible as possible!” Lars said. “If we wanna get their attention, then we’ll have to grab it and never let go! Full speed ahead!”

The  _ Sun Incinerator _ sped towards their destination. Already, the Fright Zone was beginning to activate its defenses. Just as Hordak predicted, cybertanks and cybercolossi were being deployed to counter the intruder.

Beams of energy streaked past the ship, some colliding against its hull. “They’re firing on us, Captain!” said Rhodonite.

“Then let’s fire back!” he said. “Target those robots!”

Avoiding the shots, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ fired some beams of its own at its attackers. Cybertanks were torn apart by the barrage as it looped around for another run. A pair of cybercolossi returned fire, narrowly avoiding the vessel.

“Careful! Those cybercolossi should be our first priority!” said Padparadscha.

“Good thinking, Pads,” said Lars. “Team! Focus fire on the big ones!”

As the firefight continued, Bow’s eyes were fixed on his tracker pad. “Anything yet?” asked Glimmer.

“I think so,” he replied. “I’m getting a huge energy reading from this area here. I think that’s where Hordak’s sanctum is.”

The ship swerved to the side, almost making the two lose their balance. “First Ones?” Glimmer asked.

“Definitely,” said Bow. “I know what you’re thinking; yes, it’s probably Adora’s sword.”

“Better tell Steven,” said Glimmer. “If Adora’s sword is here, Adora probably is, too.”

Bow pressed a few buttons on his pad. “Steven, this is Bow, do you read?”

“I hear you, Bow,” Steven said. “How is everything up there?”

“Um…” Bow looked up as the  _ Sun Incinerator _ tilted to its side to dart in-between two cybercolossi. “...doing okay,” he said. “Are you almost there?”

“We’re right on the edge of the Fright Zone,” Steven answered. “Lars looks like he’s giving them a hard time!”

“You know it!” Lars called from the captain’s chair.

“Steven, I think we know where they’re holding Adora,” Bow said. “Make your way to Hordak’s sanctum, there’s a huge energy reading coming from there.”

“Sanctum, got it,” said Steven. “We’ll head right there as soon as--”

“Wait a minute, something's wrong!” exclaimed Rhodonite.

“Wrong? Wrong how?” asked Lars.

“They...they’re lowering their weapons,” said Padparadscha.

“What? Why are they doing that?” asked a Rutile.

“...Steven?” said Bow. “I’ll need to call you back…”

The cybertanks and cybercolossi, which had previously been firing at the  _ Sun Incinerator _ , had suddenly ceased fire, retreating back into their previous positions. This was in spite of the ship still circling the Fright Zone, and still having plenty of units left.

Glimmer was as confused as everyone else. “Did they give up or something?” she asked.

“Uh-oh. Guys?” Bow indicated his tracker pad. Another energy surge. This one’s...kind of a mish-mash. It’s got some First Ones, some Gem, some Horde...the works.”

“We see it on the radar,” said Rutile. “...uh-oh…”

“Y’know, I don’t really like that you guys keep saying ‘uh-oh,’” said Lars. What’s going on here?”

The source of the surge made itself visible. Bolts of crimson energy sparked from a pair of bay doors sliding open on a rooftop. A vast shape, equal parts green, red, and black emerged. “Is that…?” said Rutile.

“The  _ Destiny Destroyer _ …” said Lars. “And it looks like it got some upgrades.”

The newly-completed  _ Destiny Destroyer mk. II _ looked like a haphazard collection of parts, a veritable Frankenstein’s Monster of a ship. Pieces from the original had been slapped together, held in place by Horde tech that jutted out at unnatural angles. And the whole thing continuously emanated a red haze as it hovered up to meet its adversary.

A voice came through the comms. “We meet again, Lars of the Stars!”

“Emerald!” said Lars. “What’s the deal with your new ship? It looks like you made it yourself!”

“For your information, I did!” Emerald retorted. “But this is no ordinary ship! This is the  _ Destiny Destroyer mk. II _ ! And thanks to the power the Black Garnet has provided me, it will be your end! I will finally have my beloved  _ Sun Incinerator _ back, and you will be nothing more than dust!”

With a deafening creaking sound, a pair of cannons emerged at the front of Emerald’s ship. “Evaaasiiive maneeeuvers!” cried Fluorite.

Bolts of crimson energy shot out of the cannons, barely missing the  _ Sun Incinerator _ . The ship swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding the shots. More and more of the bolts were fired, though thankfully none hit their mark.

“Those are pulse cannons!” exclaimed Rhodonite. “They’ll fry our systems if they hit us!”

“All the more reason not to get hit!” said Lars. “Now, let’s give Emerald a taste of her own medicine!”

The  _ Sun Incinerator _ rounded the far corner of the Fright Zone, turning back towards Emerald’s new vessel. The cruiser let loose a barrage at the larger ship, only for the shots to pass through it, as though it was a shadow. “Captain! No effect!” Rutile exclaimed.

A peal of laughter came over the comms. “You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you, old friend?” said Emerald. “As I said, I have the power of the Black Garnet on my side! With this power infused into this vessel’s very core, you have no chance at escaping me again! I will give you one last chance: surrender the  _ Sun Incinerator _ to me, and I will allow you--”

“Fat chance!” Lars exclaimed. “Punch it!”

The  _ Sun Incinerator _ sped towards the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , spinning to avoid the shots fired its way. The smaller ship flew under it, speeding off into the distance as Emerald gave chase.

“Wait, where are you going?” shouted Glimmer. “What about Adora and the others?”

“Don’t worry, as long as Emerald’s after us, she’s not after them,” said Lars. “And I don’t think she’ll ever give up this chase!”

It certainly looked like she wouldn’t. The  _ Destiny Destroyer _ raced after its target, continuing to fire its barrage. One of the blasts hit its mark, right in the  _ Sun Incinerator _ ’s thrusters. The engines cut out for just a moment, a split second, just long enough to worry those onboard.

“I would not recommend taking another hit like that, Captain!” said Padparadscha.

Emerald continued to hound the crew. “Alright, new plan,” Lars said. “If we’ve learned anything in our time on the run, it’s that Emerald’s ship is no good at cornering. Find somewhere with a lot of turns!”

“There’s a canyon not far from here,” said Rhodonite, “but are you sure that--”

“Excellent! Head there!” said Lars. The  _ Sun Incinerator _ diverted its course as Emerald continued firing. A few of the pulses managed to hit, each one shorting out the systems for a brief moment. The ship held together, but the repeated attacks were beginning to have a larger effect.

“Are you sure about this, Lars?” asked Bow, concerned. “This seems a little bit risky…”

“Hey, better taking a risk than letting Emerald catch us!” said Lars.

As the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ bore down on the smaller vessel, it made a quick barrel roll before diving down into the entryway to the canyon. Emerald’s ship was too large to enter, so surely they were safe down here. All that mattered now was not hitting any of the cliff walls…

“Nngh...Go around! Cut them off!” yelled Emerald. Her ship continued on above the canyon.

The  _ Sun Incinerator _ raced through the narrow cavern, just small enough to slip through. “Fluorite, how’re we doing?” asked Lars.

“Nooot baaad, but nooot gooooood eeeitheeer,” Fluorite said. “Thooose puuulse caaanons aaaren’t doooing uuus aaany faaavors…”

“Okay, just hold her together a bit longer,” said Lars. “Any sign of Emerald?”

“She’s not on the radar anymore, we must have gotten too far,” said Rutile. “There is...something else, though.”

“Something else? Like what?”

“I can’t tell just yet,” said Rutile. “Some sort of disturbance in the planet’s upper atmosphere. We’d have to get back above-ground to get any more info.”

“Then we’ll leave this cave as soon as we can,” said Glimmer. “We have to get back to the Fright Zone before--”

As the ship approached a larger room in the cavern, a large shape suddenly jumped out at them, appearing out of nowhere, as if it had phased through the wall. The  _ Destiny Destroyer _ blocked their path.

“Hard left!” Lars shouted. The  _ Sun Incinerator _ swerved to the side, just as it was hit by a collection of blasts. Navigation and shields were scrambled.

Rather than ram headlong into the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , however, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ instead passed right through it. One moment they were heading right for it, the next everything was dark, and the next, they appeared on the other side. Everyone was so taken-aback by this development that they didn’t react in time as the ship headed for the cliff face.

The ship’s crew pulled up just before they hit the wall head-on, but not before the bottom of the vessel scraped against the rocks. The cabin shook as the ship reeled from the impact--with no shields to protect it, the hull was shredded.

“Criiitiiicaaal huuull daaamaaage!” announced Fluorite.

“Captain, our core’s been breached!” said Rhodonite. “We’re losing power by the second, and our weapons systems are shot!”

Lars groaned, pounding the armrest of his seat. “We’ve only got one shot at this--take us back to the surface!”

“Right away, Captain.” Once they passed the next hole, the  _ Sun Incinerator _ exited the cavern. The ship rattled and shook, its shields still not having come back online.

“Okay, okay…” Lars said, trying not to panic. “Let’s get started on repairs, and--”

“No use--the ship is falling apart faster than Fluorite can fix it!” said Padparadscha.

“Then we’ll have to set down somewhere,” he said. “Keep watch for Emerald, and...woah…

“...I take it that’s your atmospheric disturbance?” said Bow.

Gem warships of all shapes and sizes filled the sky. Coming from the direction of Earth, they began to spread out, covering the area above the Fright Zone and beyond. “Captain! We’re being targeted!” said Rutile.

“What!? By them, or by Emerald!?” said Lars.

“Both!”

A vibrating hum coming from behind them informed them that the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ was back on their tail. More and more pulse shots collided with their ship’s rear. The already-failing systems got even worse.

Lars had nothing to say. Even if he had, he would have been interrupted as a familiar glow appeared on his head. “Not now--” Who should emerge from his hair but Peridot, looking worried.

“Sorry if this is a bad time,” she said, “but we’ve detected a large portion of Emerald’s ships headed towards your location!”

“WE KNOW!” yelled everyone.

“Oh. Okay, already on top of everything,” Peridot said. She looked around at the sorry state the ship’s bridge was in. “...Eesh. What happened here?”

“Emerald happened!” yelled Lars.

An explosion rocked the ground some distance away. Another, closer this time. Unable to see any source on the ground, the crew looked skyward. “Captain? They’re shooting at us,” said Rhodonite.

Onboard the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , Emerald wasn’t happy about this development either. “What are those idiots  _ doing _ !?” she yelled. “They’re going to destroy my beloved  _ Sun Incinerator _ !”

One of the stray blasts collided with the cliff face, mere feet from said ship. Although it technically missed, the vessel was bombarded with shrapnel and energy, sending it reeling. The  _ Sun Incinerator _ spun out of control, the bridge bathed in crimson light as a warning siren shrieked.

“Captain! We’re going down!” yelled Rutile.

“I’m outta here!” Peridot yelped, retreating back into Lars’ hair. She peeked back out for just a moment to say “Quick! Through here!”

“Peridot is right, we must evacuate!” said Padparadscha.

“Whaaat abooout Laaars?” said Fluorite.

“Don’t worry,” said Glimmer, “I can get him out of here!”

“...Go. Get to safety,” said Lars. “I’ll be fine, I promise!”

The ship stayed aloft, but only barely. The  _ Destiny Destroyer _ had mostly retreated, watching its descent from afar. “NO! Lars, what are you doing!?” Emerald bellowed.

As Bow worked to keep the ship in the air, Peridot, Padparadscha, Rutile, Fluorite, and Rhodonite all disappeared through Lars’ hair. “Stay safe, Captain,” said Rhodonite, as she too vanished.

“I can’t hold it much longer, it’s now or never!” said Bow.

“Quick, over here!” said Glimmer. Both Lars and Bow ran to her, as she grabbed tight to both of them. They vanished just as the  _ Sun Incinerator _ reached the ground.

Emerald could only watch in horror as her beloved ship went up in a fireball. She slowly got to her feet, staring out the window at the crash site. A Peridot next to her looked at her with concern. “M-my Emerald?” She did not reply.

_ _ _

Lars slowly opened his eyes. “Are we dead?” He scanned his surroundings to see dusty plains all around.

“No, but that might change soon,” said Glimmer. She let go of Lars and Bow, pointing towards the distant shape of the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ . “We should probably get going before she realizes where we are.”

“Good idea,” said Bow. “She probably won’t be happy that her ship blew up…”

“ _ That’s _ an understatement,” said Lars. The three of them headed towards the Fright Zone, hoping it wasn’t too late.

_ _ _

Emerald stepped out of the  _ Destiny Destroyer _ , a look of disbelief frozen on her face. The wreck of her beloved  _ Sun Incinerator _ lay before her. Too damaged to be repaired, the whole ship had been consumed by the flames, leaving only scattered pieces of hot metal and melted chassis.

The Peridot looked at her, concerned, as Emerald picked up a small piece of the ruined hull. Her fist closed around it, crushing it into powder. “Are you alright, My Emer--”

“Glass the planet,” Emerald said quietly.

“I-I’m sorry?” said the Peridot, stepping closer.

“Glass. The. Planet,” said Emerald, turning to face her. “Get back in there, and contact the fleet. Tell them to open fire.”

“My Emerald, open fire on what?”

“EVERYTHING!” Emerald lifted the Peridot up by her neck. “Tell them to fire on everything that moves! Everything that isn’t  _ me _ ! I want Lars of the Stars, and everyone he calls an ally,  _ reduced to nothing more than SPACE DUST! _ ” She threw the Peridot back towards the ship, where she scrambled back towards. Emerald looked to the sky at the incoming fleet. The ships were growing closer. “I’m finished playing nice,” she said quietly. “You have nothing more to offer me, Lars of the Stars. You will die along with the Princess Alliance, the Crystal Gems, and anyone else who stands by you. Mark my words,  _ you will know my fury _ .”


End file.
